ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission team wins 2015 Space Pioneer Award

The team of ISRO’s Mars Mission has been awarded 2015 Space Pioneer Award in the Science and Engineering category by National Space Society (NSS).

They are being conferred with this award for achieving the rare feat of entering Mars orbit in maiden attempt.

Mars Orbiter Programme Team will receive the award during NSS’ 34th International Space Development Conference which will be held in Toronto.

ISRO’s Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM):

• It was launched on 5 November, 2013. It made history on 24 September 2014 after it entered Mars orbit in maiden attempt.

• It achieved two significant missions. First, entering into orbit around Mars and Secondly, taking full-disk colour imagery of Mars with its onboard high resolution camera.

• It should be noted that, the Mars Orbiter programme team located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is headed by eminent ISRO scientist Mylswamy Annadurai.

About Space Pioneer Award:

• It recognizes those individuals and teams whose accomplishments have helped to open the space frontier. It was instituted in 1988.

• This prestigious award is be given by the National Space Society (NSS), an American educational and scientific organization.

• Award memento consists of a silvery pewter Moon globe cast. It is casted by the Baker Art Foundry in Placerville, California. Originally, this sculpture was created by Don Davis, the well-known space and astronomical artist.