COSPAR Names 2026 Space Science Award Winners and Honors Them With Minor Planets
The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) will present its 2026 awards on 3 August during the 46th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Florence, Italy. The meeting, scheduled for 1–9 August 2026, will bring together researchers from across the space science community to recognize discoveries ranging from gamma-ray astronomy and heliospheric physics to planetary protection, space weather, radiation biology and ultraviolet astronomy. In accordance with an agreement between COSPAR and the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the award recipients will also be commemorated through the naming of minor planets.
The COSPAR Space Science Award will be shared by Angela Bazzano of Italy and Gary P. Zank of the United States. Bazzano, a research director at the Institute of Space Astrophysics and Planetology of Italy’s National Institute for Astrophysics, has played a central role in high-energy astrophysics and the study of gamma-ray sources. Her career has included observations from balloon experiments and data analysis involving Exosat, BeppoSAX and the European Space Agency’s INTEGRAL gamma-ray observatory. She is particularly recognized for her contributions to the IBIS imaging telescope, an instrument designed to map the high-energy sky with unprecedented angular resolution.
Bazzano helped define the scientific objectives of IBIS and contributed to its calibration and long-term performance. She was also a leading member of the INTEGRAL Survey Team, helping establish the Galactic Plane Scanning and All-Sky Survey programmes. These surveys have revealed faint and variable sources across the Milky Way and beyond, including compact objects and energetic processes near the Galactic Centre. Her work has helped scientists understand how black holes, neutron stars and other extreme environments produce hard X-rays and gamma rays. Bazzano will be honored with minor planet (21038) Bazzano.
Gary P. Zank, a professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, is being recognized for foundational work on the interaction between the solar wind and the local interstellar medium. The solar wind is a continuous stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun, while the local interstellar medium consists of the tenuous gas and magnetic fields surrounding the heliosphere. Zank developed influential models of this boundary region, including predictions of a “hydrogen wall,” where neutral hydrogen becomes compressed ahead of the heliosphere as the solar wind pushes against interstellar space.
Zank also advanced theories of turbulence, particle acceleration and energetic-particle transport throughout the heliosphere. His models proposed that solar-wind turbulence consists primarily of two interacting components: two-dimensional fluctuations relative to the average magnetic field and slab-like fluctuations aligned with it. He also predicted that reflected interstellar pickup ions influence the structure of the heliospheric termination shock, a prediction later supported by observations from Voyager 2. His work has shaped modern theories of space weather and cosmic-ray transport. Minor planet (21039) Zank will carry his name.
The COSPAR International Cooperation Medal will go to Guenther Reitz of Germany, an internationally recognized expert in space radiation and dosimetry. Space radiation includes high-energy protons, heavy ions and secondary particles created when cosmic rays interact with spacecraft or human tissue. Reitz contributed to experiments that measured the biological effects of individual heavy ions and later led international investigations into radiation exposure during human spaceflight. His Matroshka project, involving 11 countries and 20 institutions, used a human phantom to measure radiation dose at different depths inside and outside the International Space Station.
The William Nordberg Medal will recognize David G. Sibeck of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and WANG Jinsong of China’s National Satellite Meteorological Center and National Center for Space Weather. Sibeck’s research has transformed understanding of how changes in the solar wind drive the magnetosphere and ionosphere. He established widely used models of the dayside magnetopause, the boundary separating Earth’s magnetic field from the solar wind, and helped explain how solar-wind disturbances produce global responses in near-Earth space. His work contributed to the THEMIS mission, which identified the physical processes responsible for magnetospheric substorms, and to the international SMILE mission, which will use soft X-ray imaging to study solar-wind charge exchange around Earth. He will be honored through minor planet (21042) Sibeck.
WANG Jinsong has led China’s FengYun meteorological satellite programme and helped expand the use of satellite observations for weather forecasting and space-weather monitoring. Under his leadership, the FengYun constellation has supported observations of solar-terrestrial activity, while the National Center for Space Weather has strengthened international coordination. The center has co-chaired the World Meteorological Organization’s Space Weather Coordination Group and became one of the global space-weather centers designated for aviation support by the International Civil Aviation Organization. His award reflects the growing importance of operational space science, which connects measurements of the Sun and near-Earth environment with services that protect communication, navigation, aviation and power systems. His minor planet designation is (21041) Wangjinsong.
COSPAR will award its Distinguished Service Medal to Carlos Gabriel, John D. Rummel and Pascal Willis. Gabriel is being honored for nearly 25 years of work with COSPAR’s Panel on Capacity Building, including eight years as its chair. He expanded international workshops, fellowships and alumni networks across Asia, Africa and Latin America and helped establish a small-satellite programme aimed at supporting emerging space nations. Rummel is recognized for his leadership in planetary protection, the discipline that prevents harmful biological contamination between Earth and other worlds. His work helped develop requirements for Mars missions, Mars Sample Return and future human exploration, while COSPAR workshops provided a forum for scientists, engineers, lawyers and policymakers to resolve complex mission risks. Their minor planets are (21045) Juangabriel and (21044) Rummel.
Willis, formerly of France’s Institut Géographique National, helped establish the International DORIS Service, which uses Doppler measurements from satellites to determine precise positions on Earth. He also chaired COSPAR’s Technical Panel on Satellite Dynamics and served as editor-in-chief of Advances in Space Research from 2014 to 2025. The journal publishes research across the space sciences, including Earth observation, planetary exploration, astrophysics and space plasma physics. Willis will be commemorated by minor planet (21043) Pascalwillis. The joint COSPAR–Indian Space Research Organization Vikram Sarabhai Medal will go to Annapurni Subramaniam, director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, for contributions to astronomy and space research in a developing country. She helped calibrate India’s AstroSat ultraviolet imaging telescope, studied stellar populations and binary evolution, and leads the proposed INSIST ultraviolet-optical space telescope. The joint COSPAR–Chinese Academy of Sciences Jeoujang Jaw Award will honor Keke Zhang of Macau for theoretical and observational advances in planetary dynamics, geomagnetic research and planetary dynamos. As principal investigator of Macau Science Satellite-1, launched in 2023, Zhang helped develop the first low-latitude geomagnetic satellite, providing precise measurements of Earth’s magnetic environment from the core to the magnetosphere.
Subject of Research:
International space science awards recognizing advances in gamma-ray astronomy, heliophysics, space radiation, space weather, planetary protection, satellite geodesy, ultraviolet astronomy and planetary science.
Article Title:
COSPAR Names 2026 Space Science Award Winners and Honors Them With Minor Planets
Web References:
https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/awards/award-citations/
https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/assets/uploads/2026/06/Recipients_Merge-Table_Web.pdf
https://cosparhq.cnes.fr/assets/uploads/2026/04/List-of-Awardees_for-Publication-1.pdf
https://www.linkedin.com/company/committee-on-space-research-cospar/
https://www.facebook.com/CommitteeOnSpaceResearch/
https://www.instagram.com/cosparhq/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC66pk6Eb0kPKC5Uqx-D-RLw
References:
Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), 2026 award citations and organizational information.
Keywords
COSPAR, space science awards, IAU minor planets, gamma-ray astronomy, heliosphere, solar wind, space weather, planetary protection, space radiation, satellite meteorology, ultraviolet astronomy, planetary science
