...two new board members and recognizing one board member retirement. The board of directors elected two new members to three-year terms:

• Wanda M. Austin, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, The Aerospace Corporation
• Ronald M. Sega, Ph.D., vice president and enterprise executive for energy, Colorado State University and The Ohio State University

Officers continuing in service include:

• Anita M. Antenucci, senior managing director of Houlihan Lokey, treasurer
• The Honorable Barbara Barrett, interim president, Thunderbird School of Global Management; president and chief executive officer, Triple Creek Ranch; and former ambassador to Finland, secretary
• Martin C. Faga, former president and chief executive officer, The MITRE Corporation; and former director of the National Reconnaissance Office, chairman of the board
• Lon C. Levin, co-founder of XM Satellite Radio; and president of SkySevenVentures, vice chairman of the board
• ADM James O. Ellis, Jr., USN, Ret., former commander, United States Strategic Command; and president and chief executive officer, INPO, executive committee member-at-large
• Elliot Pulham, chief executive officer

Elected to second terms are...

• ADM James O. Ellis, Jr., USN, Ret.
• Kathryn C. Thornton, Ph.D., University of Virginia professor and former NASA astronaut

Retiring from the board and named life director:

• Gary W. Ervin, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems

Returning board members:

• Richard F. Ambrose, president, Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Solutions - National
• David Caddey, executive vice president, Space Missions Group for MacDonald, Dettwiler & Associates, Ltd.
• The Honorable Robert E. "Bud" Cramer, chairman, Wexler & Walker
• Lynn A. Dugle, president, Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems (IIS)
• John W. Elbon, vice president and general manager, The Boeing Company - Space Exploration
• James Maser, president, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
• P.J. O'Rourke, author and political satirist
• Kay N. Sears, president, Intelsat General
• The Honorable Patricia Grace Smith, former assistant administrator, Federal Aviation Administration; principal, Patti Grace Smith Consulting
• David L. Taylor, president and chief executive officer, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.
• The Honorable Dave Weldon, M.D., head of Dave Weldon Consulting and former U.S. representative from the State of Florida

The mission that had the nation holding its breath as it tested an ingenious but never-before-used landing technique and continues to amaze with...

...new discoveries about Mars has been selected as the 2013 recipient of the Space Foundation's John L. "Jack" Swigert, Jr., Award for Space Exploration.

"We are recognizing the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Mission Team for its aggressive and technologically advanced exploration of another planet," said Space Foundation Chief Executive Officer Elliot Pulham. "This incredible mission will yield valuable science about conditions on Mars and enable critical technologies for future missions."

The award will be presented April 8 during the opening ceremony of the 29th National Space Symposium at The Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colo. The award is given annually to the person or organization that has made the most significant accomplishments in advancing the exploration of space during the previous year.

The John L. "Jack" Swigert, Jr., Award for Space Exploration honors astronaut Jack Swigert, a Colorado native who served with retired U.S. Navy Captain James A. Lovell, Jr., and Fred Haise on the legendary Apollo 13 lunar mission, which was aborted after the perilous rupture of an oxygen tank en route to the Moon. Before joining the Apollo program, Swigert was a combat pilot for the U.S. Air Force in Japan and Korea and an engineering test pilot for North American Aviation, Inc., and Pratt and Whitney. In 1982, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, but died of cancer before taking the oath of office.

The Space Foundation, founded in 1983 in part to honor Swigert's memory, created the Swigert Award in 2004 in tribute to his lasting legacy of space exploration. Previous recipients include NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander Team, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), The California Institute of Technology, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's Mars Exploration Team from JPL, President George W. Bush, the LCROSS mission and, in 2012, the NASA Kepler Mission.