ISRO bags Leif Erikson Lunar Prize for Chandrayaan-3

PTI, Dec 20, 2023, 8:44 PM IST

New Delhi: ISRO has been awarded the 2023 Leif Erikson Lunar Prize by the Exploration Museum in Iceland’s Husavik for its successful Chandrayaan-3 mission.

The award celebrates the first soft-landing of a spacecraft near the lunar south pole and “ISRO’s indomitable spirit in advancing lunar exploration and contributing to understanding celestial mysteries,” the Embassy of India in Reykjavik said in a post on X.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath sent a “thank you” video message on the occasion and the prize was received on behalf of the space agency by Ambassador B Shyam.

The Leif Erikson Award is an annual prize given by the Exploration Museum since 2015. It is named after Leif Erikson — a Norse explorer thought to be the first European to set foot on continental America, almost four centuries before the expedition of Christopher Columbus.

Chandrayaan-3 was India’s third mission to the moon, and the second attempt to carry out a soft-landing on the lunar surface. ISRO managed to place the Vikram lander on the lunar surface and roll out the robotic rover, Pragyaan.

Leif Erikson Lunar Prize has been awarded by Husavik Museum for @ISRO‘s indomitable spirit in advancing lunar exploration & contributing to understanding celestial mysteries #Chandrayaan3
ISRO Chairman Mr S.Somanath sent a message; Amb Mr Shyam received the prize on ISRO’s behalf pic.twitter.com/0l8LjJj7SF

— India in Iceland (@indembiceland) December 19, 2023