The NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (abbreviated ESAM) was established by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

on September 15, 1961, when the original ESM was divided into three separate awards. Under the current guidelines, the ESAM is awarded for unusually significant scientific contribution toward achievement of aeronautical or space exploration goals. This award may be given for individual efforts that have resulted in a contribution of fundamental importance in this field, or have significantly enhanced understanding of this field.

Recipients (incomplete list)

* 1962 –

Robert E. Bourdeau Robert Eugene Bourdeau (February 1, 1922March 5, 2010) was an American physicist known for major contributions to the study of the ionosphere, plasma physics and radio science using space vehicles including satellites and rockets. Among his many ...

* 1963 –

John Houbolt John Cornelius Houbolt (April 10, 1919 – April 15, 2014) was an aerospace engineer credited with leading the team behind the lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) mission mode, a concept that was used to successfully land humans on the Moon and return t ...

* 1965 –

Jack N. James Jack Norval James (November 22, 1920 – August 7, 2001) was a US rocket engineer who worked for over 35 years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, USA. His work as a Project Manager for NASA's Mariner program in the 1960s inc ...

* 1966 – Richard Franz Joseph Arenstorf (He was awarded the medal for his contributions to the Space Navigation and the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. * 1968 – G. Mervin Ault * 1969 – Charles Berry, William F. Brown, Thomas Canning, Moustafa Chahine,

Hong-Yee Chiu Hong-Yee Chiu (; born October 1932) is a Taiwanise-American astrophysicist, at NASA for 35 years, and successful publisher of EHGBooks micro-publishing company. He was born in Shanghai, China. Career Chiu graduated from National Taiwan Univers ...

, Clarence Cone, James Downey, Erwin Fehlberg, Richard Green, Rudolf Hanel, Webb Haymaker,

Gerhard B. Heller Gerhard B. Heller (January 24, 1914 - October 1, 1972) was a German-American rocket scientist and member of the " von Braun rocket team." He worked at Peenemünde Army Research Center during World War II and later, through Operation Paperclip, mo ...

, Harvey Hubbard, James Humphreys, Mark Kelly, James Kupperian, Dale Lumb, Wolfgang Moeckel, Paul Muller, Robert Naumann, William O'Bryant, George Pieper, Henry Plotkin, Joseph Randall, Donald Rea,

Nancy Roman Nancy Grace Roman (May 16, 1925 – December 25, 2018) was an American astronomer who made important contributions to stellar classification and motions. The first female executive at NASA, Roman served as NASA's first Chief of Astronomy through ...

, Lee Scherer, William Sjorgen, Charles Sonett, Robert Stone, David Wark, Richard Whitcomb, Donald Wise * 1970 – William Angele,

James R. Arnold James Richard Arnold (May 5, 1923 – January 6, 2012) was the Harold C. Urey Professor of Chemistry (emeritus), and a noted pioneer in the field of planetary and space chemistry at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), wher ...

, Paul Coleman, Leverett Davis, Milner Eskew, Herbert Friedman, Paul Gast, Peter Macdoran, Warren Martin, Maurice Morin, Marcia Neugebauer, Edward Perkins, Edward Smith, Conway Snyder, Nelson Spencer, Patrick Thaddeus, Robert Walker, Gerald Wasserburg * 1971 – John C. Freche * 1972 – Robert Steinbacher, Thomas C. Duxbury, Charles H. Acton * 1973 – William A. Fischer, Founder & Sr. Scientist, EROS Space Program; Recipient of the US Distinguished Service Award & many others. onway B. Leovy* 1974 – John A. Simpson, William Edgar Thornton August F. Witt, Carolyn L. Huntoon * 1975 – Edward Purdy Ney * 1976 – Tito T. Serafini * 1977 �
Janos K. Lanyi
* 1978 – Elihu Boldt, Hale Bradt,

Herbert Friedman Herbert Friedman (June 21, 1916 – September 9, 2000) was an American physicist and astronomer who did research in X-ray astronomy. During his career Friedman published hundreds of scientific papers. One such example is "Ultraviolet and X Rays f ...

, Gordon Garmire,

Herbert Gursky Herbert Gursky (May 27, 1930, Bronx, New York – December 1, 2006) was the Superintendent of the Naval Research Laboratory's Space Science Division and Chief Scientist of the E.O. Hulburt Center for Space Research. Biography Gursky's resear ...

Walter Lewin Walter Hendrik Gustav Lewin (born January 29, 1936) is a Dutch astrophysicist and retired professor of physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lewin earned his doctorate in nuclear physics in 1965 at the Delft University of Technol ...

, Frank McDonald, Laurence Peterson, Alvin Seiff, Robert Tolson * 1979 – Milton Halem * 1980 –

Riccardo Giacconi Riccardo Giacconi ( , ; October 6, 1931 – December 9, 2018) was an Italian-American Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist who laid down the foundations of X-ray astronomy. He was a professor at the Johns Hopkins University. Biography Born in ...

(2002 Nobel Laureate in Physics) * 1981 –

Andrew Ingersoll Andrew Perry Ingersoll is a professor of planetary science at the California Institute of Technology. Ingersoll was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1997. He received the lifetime achievement award in planetary science, the G ...

, Talivaldis Spalvins * 1982 –

Mary Helen Johnston Mary Helen Johnston (born September 17, 1945), later also Mary Helen McCay, is an American scientist and former astronaut. Working with NASA as an engineer in the 1960s and '70s, Johnston aspired to be an astronaut; she unsuccessfully applied in ...

, Jeff Cuzzi, James V. Taranik * 1983 –

Joel S. Levine Joel S. Levine (born 1942) is an American planetary scientist, author, and research professor in applied science at the College of William & Mary, specializing in the atmospheres of the Moon, Earth, and Mars. He has worked as a senior research ...

* 1984 –

Donald B. Campbell Donald B. Campbell is an Australian-born astronomer and Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Prior to joining the Cornell faculty he was Director of the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico for seven years. Campbell's research work is in th ...

James R. Houck James Richard Houck (October 5, 1940 – September 18, 2015) was the Kenneth A. Wallace Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Houck pioneered infrared observational astronomy, designing detectors and spectrographs that were flown on sound ...

* 1985 – Prem Chand Pandey,

SAC SAC or Sac may refer to: Organizations Education * Santa Ana College, California, US * San Antonio College, Texas, US * St. Andrew's College, Aurora, Canada * Students' Administrative Council, University of Toronto, Canada * SISD Student Activiti ...

ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...

, NCAOR and

IIT Kharagpur Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is a public institute of technology established by the Government of India in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Established in 1951, the institute is the first of the IITs to be established ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Parviz Moin * 1986 – Jeff Cuzzi, Crofton B. Farmer, Frank J. Grunthaner, Taylor G. Wang * 1988 –

Nitza Margarita Cintrón Nitza Margarita Cintrón (born 1950) is a Puerto Rican scientist and Chief of Space Medicine and Health Care Systems Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Early years Cintrón was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the capital city of the island. ...

, Hal A. Weaver, Michael J. Mumma * 1989 –

Mario Molina Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (19 March 19437 October 2020), known as Mario Molina, was a Mexican chemist. He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemist ...

(1995 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry),

Donald J. Kessler Donald J. Kessler (born 1940) is an American astrophysicist and former NASA scientist known for his studies regarding space debris. Early life and education Kessler grew up in Texas. He served in the US Army in the Air Defense Command. He at ...

Inez Fung Inez Fung (; born April 11, 1949) is a professor of atmospheric science at the University of California, Berkeley, jointly appointed in the Department of Earth and Planetary Science and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Managemen ...

* 1990 – Charles M. Telesco, John W. Harvey,

Martin A. Pomerantz Martin Arthur Pomerantz (December 17, 1916 – October 26, 2008) was an American physicist who served as Director of the Bartol Research Institute and who had been a leader in developing Antarctic astronomy.Indermuehle, Balthasar T., Burton, Mich ...

* 1991 – Khairul B. M. Q. Zaman,

John C. Mather John Cromwell Mather (born August 7, 1946, Roanoke, Virginia) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist and Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for his work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite (COBE) with George Smoot. This work helped ...

(2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics), Manuel D. Salas, Roy W. Spencer, John Christy * 1992 – Charles L. Bennett, John C.Brandt, Edward S. Cheng, Donald D. Clayton, Holland C. Ford, Edward J. Groth, Richard J. Harms, Sara E. Heap, Peter Jakobson, William H. Jefferys, Thomas Kelsall, Michaael D. King, Tod R. Lauer, David S. Leckrone, F. Duccio Macchetto, Stephan S. Meyers, S. Harvey Moseley, Thomas L. Murdock, Michael J. Prather, Richard A. Shafer, Robert F. Silverberg, Wei-kuo Tao, James A. Westphal, Ray J. Weymann, Edward L. Wright, James A. DiCarlo, Nathan S. Jacobson,

George Smoot George Fitzgerald Smoot III (born February 20, 1945) is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, Nobel laureate, and the 2nd contestant to win the $1 million prize on '' Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?''. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics i ...

(2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics) * 1993 – Rebecca A. MacKay * 1994 – Robert A. Bindschadler, Theodore E. Bunch, Emmett W. Chappelle, Malcolm M. Cohen, Dale P. Cruikshank, Hay C. Hardin, Alice K. Harding, Donald Horan, Winifred M. Huo, Isabella T. Lewis, Erick Malaret, Camden McCarl, Robert Riesse, Piers J. Sellers, Trevor C. Sorensen, Thomas A. Zang Jr. * 1995 – James L. Smialek, Maria T. Zuber, Robert D. Moser * 1996 – Kevin Zahnle,

Carolyn Shoemaker Carolyn Jean Spellmann Shoemaker (June 24, 1929 – August 13, 2021) was an American astronomer and a co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9. She discovered 32 comets (then a record for the most by an individual) ...

Eugene Merle Shoemaker Eugene Merle Shoemaker (April 28, 1928 – July 18, 1997) was an American geologist. He co-discovered Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn S. Shoemaker and David H. Levy. This comet hit Jupiter in July 1994: the impact was televise ...

* 1997 – James O. Arnold, David H. Atkinson, David H. Bailey, John E. Carlstrom, Ara Chutjian, John W. Connell, Harald M. Fischer, Everett K. Gibson Jr., William L. Grose, Marshall K. Joy, Kathie L. Thomas-Keprta, Louis J. Lanzerotti, David S. McKay, Michael J. Mumma, Hasso B. Niemann, Glenn S. Orton, Peter A. Pilewskie, Carolyn Purvis, Boris Ragent, Alvin Seiff, Lawrence Sromovsky, Ulf von Zahn, Richard N. Zare * 1998 – Narottam P. Bansal, Timothy J. Lee * 1999 – Jeff Cuzzi, Martin Weisskopf * 2000 – Hugh J. Christian Jr.,

Joan Feynman Joan Feynman (March 31, 1927 – July 21, 2020) was an American astrophysicist. She made contributions to the study of solar wind particles and fields, sun-Earth relations, and magnetospheric physics. In particular, Feynman was known for develop ...

, Mona J. Hagyard, Yoram J. Kaufman, Ellis E. Remsberg * 2002 – Thomas P. Charlock, Gilles Peltzer * 2003 – Philip R. Christensen, Jean O. Dickey, Geoffrey W. Marcy, Martin G. Mlynczak, Ronald L. Moore, Richard F. Mushotzky,

Eric Rignot Eric J. Rignot is a chancellor professor of Earth system science at the University of California, Irvine, and senior research scientist for the Radar Science and Engineering Section at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Education In 1985, Rigno ...

, Farid Salama, Wei-Kuo Tao * 2004 – Charles L. Bennett, Randall G. Hulet, David P. Kratz, Steven J. Ostro, Thomas L. Sever, Chris R. Webster, Yuk-ling Yung * 2005 – Ichiro Fukumori,

, Nicholas Leventis, Steven Suess, Michael Watkins * 2006 – Michael F. A’Hearn,

David Charbonneau David Brian Charbonneau is a professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for the detection and characterization of exoplanets orbiting nearby, Sun-like stars. Early life and educati ...

, Drake Deming,

Neil Gehrels Cornelis A. "Neil" Gehrels (October 3, 1952 – February 6, 2017) was an American astrophysicist specializing in the field of gamma-ray astronomy. He was Chief of the Astroparticle Physics Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GS ...

, John Le Marshall, Edward C. Stone, Tod Strohmayer, Larry W. Thomason * 2007 – Scott Braun,

Donald Brownlee Donald Eugene Brownlee (born December 21, 1943) is a professor of astronomy at the University of Washington at Seattle and the principal investigator for NASA's Stardust mission. In 2000, along with his co-author Peter Ward, he co-originated the ...

Joan Centrella Joan Mary Centrella is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist known for her research on computer simulations of general relativity, gravity waves, gravitational lenses, and binary black holes. She is the former deputy director of the Astrophysic ...

, Moustafa Chahine, Mark S. Marley, Eric Rignot, Alan Title * 2008 – Anthony Del Genio, David G. Fischer, Gerald M. Heymsfield, Russell A. Howard, Ronald Kwok, Michael I. Mishchenko, Son V. Nghiem * 2009 – James E. Fesmire, Gilles Peltzer, Michael J. Mumma,

Anne R. Douglass Anne Ritger Douglass is atmospheric physicist known for her research on chlorinated compounds and the ozone layer. Education and career Douglass graduated with a B.A.in physics from Trinity, now Trinity Washington University, in 1971. She then ...

* 2010 – Peter H. Smith, William V. Boynton, Heather L. Enos, Christopher R. Shinohara * 2011 – Carl J. Grillmair, Suzanne E. Smrekar, Yuhe T. Song, Timothy J. Lee, Eric Jensen, Jason Rowe, Jeff Scargle, Cheryl A. Nickerson * 2013 – David Paige * 2014 – Joshua Coleman, Daniel Huber * 2015 – Carrie M. Anderson * 2016 – David R. Ciardi, Amy R. Winebarger, Francesco Tombesi, Hiroya Yamaguchi * 2017 – Sylvain Guiriec, Maria Cristina De Sanctis, Samuel Gulkis, Thomas H. Prettyman, Michele Vallisneri, Kasthuri J. Venkateswaran * 2018 – Susan E. Mullally, Michael B. Stenger, Lazaros Oreopoulos, M. Cristina De Sanctis, Walter A. Petersen, Michael Russell * 2019 – John D. Bolten, Carl R. Devore, Alex Glocer, Jonathan H. Jiang, Erin A. Kara, Fei Liu, Elizabeth A. MacDonald, Amy A. Simon, Lynn B. Wilson III, Cheol Park * 2020 – Renee C. Weber, Zaven Arzoumanian * 2021 –

John Baross John A. Baross (born August 27, 1940) is an American marine microbiologist and professor of oceanography and astrobiology at the University of Washington who has made significant discoveries in the field of microbial ecology of hydrothermal vents ...

, Eli Dwek, Floyd William Stecker, Eleonora Troja * 2022 – Zivi Lautman,

References

External links

List of NASA Honor Awards

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasa Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal Awards and decorations of NASA Awards established in 1961

Recipients (incomplete list)

See also

References

External links