2026 Goddard Astronautics Award

• 22 May 2026

On 21st May 2026, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission was honoured with the prestigious 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) in Washington DC.

• On 23 August 2023, Chandrayaan-3 became the first spacecraft to achieve a soft landing near the Moon’s south pole.
• The mission explored a scientifically important lunar region that had never previously witnessed a surface-level landing mission.
• The mission provided crucial scientific data to support future human missions to the Moon and confirmed the presence of important chemical elements in lunar south polar soil.
• The Goddard Astronautics Award is the highest honour awarded by AIAA for exceptional achievements in astronautics.