Chang'e-5 Team Wins Top Award at IAA
China's Chang'e-5 team has won the top award of the International Academy of Astronautics（IAA）. On October 1, 2023, at the 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) held in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, the Chinese Chang'e-5 team was conferred the 2023 Laurels for Team Achievement Award.
Academician Yang Mengfei, editor in chief of Chinese Space Science and Technology, has made significant contributions to the research and development of the Chang'e-5 probe as the chief commander and chief designer of the third phase of the lunar exploration project.
Chang'e-5 is China's first unmanned lunar sampling and return mission. During the 23-day mission, the Chang’e-5 team successfully completed a complex mission including rocket launching, lunar-earth transfer, lunar sampling, lunar surface takeoff, rendezvous and docking sample transfer, skip re-entry and other processes, and obtained two types of lunar samples of lunar surface sampling and drilling sampling, making outstanding contributions to human lunar and deep space exploration. The extraordinary achievements of Chang'e-5 mission in technological innovation, scientific discoveries and international cooperation are highly recognized by international peers.
Established in 2001, the Laurels for Team Achievements is one of two major awards given by IAA every year. As the academy's highest team distinction, the Laurels for Team Achievement Award was created to recognize extraordinary performance and achievement by a team of scientists, engineers and managers in the field of astronautics.