ISRO Chairman receives IAF World Space Award

Dr. S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been honored with the prestigious IAF World Space Award for 2024.

Achievement: Recognition for the successful Chandrayaan-3 mission.

Significance: Chandrayaan-3 achieved the first-ever soft landing near the lunar South Pole.

Ceremony Location: The award was presented in Milan, Italy.

Innovation: Highlighted the innovative and cost-effective engineering of the mission.

About the Chandrayaan-3 mission The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, aimed at demonstrating India's capability to perform a safe landing and roving on the lunar surface.

Launch Date: August 23, 2023. 

Launch Vehicle: LVM3 from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota. 

Components: The mission consists of a Lander (Vikram) and a Rover (Pragyan).

Scientific Payloads: Includes instruments like the Chandra's Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) to measure thermal conductivity and temperature, Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA) to measure seismicity, and Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) for elemental composition analysis.