ISRO Awarded with the Leif Erikson Award 

The Husavik Museum of Iceland has awarded the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) the Lief Erikson Lunar Prize due to its contribution to the lunar exploration. The prize celebrates ISRO’s successful Chandrayan-3 Mission, where India became the first country to reach the South pole of the Moon. The mission has been a groundbreaking event in the field of space exploration. 

Chandrayaan-3 was the third mission in the Chandrayaan Programme developed by ISRO. The spacecraft was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh on 14th July 2023. On 23 August, it reached the Moon, making India the fourth country to have successfully landed on the Moon. 

The Leif Erikson Lunar Prize has been given by the Exploration Museum since 2015. It honours those who have made significant strides in the field of lunar exploration. The award is named after the Norse explorer, Lief Erkison, who is believed to be the first European to set foot in the Americas, even before Christopher Columbus. 

The Chairman of ISRO, Mr S Somanath expressed his gratitude for ISRO winning such a prestigious award. The prize was received by the Ambassador of ISRO, Mr Balasubramanian Shyam. This recognition shows India’s excellence in the fields of science and technology as demonstrated by the successful lunar mission.