NASA’s Environment and Energy “Blue Marble” Awards Categories

2 min read

Amanda Hirsch

Contents

• The famous Blue Marble image taken by Apollo 17 astronauts on their way to the Moon in 1972

  Category I: NASA Environmental Quality Award

  Recognizes excellence in environmental management and planning, including stewardship of natural and cultural resources. This category highlights achievements in compliance, conservation, remediation, communication, and environmental information management, and the development of strong stakeholder partnerships.

  Category II: NASA Award for Excellence in Project or Program Execution

  Honors efforts that reduce cost, time, or level of effort while achieving and maintaining compliance for projects or programs that directly support NASA’s mission. This category emphasizes operational efficiency, innovation, performance, and sustained compliance.

  Category III: NASA Excellence in Energy and Water Management Award

  Acknowledges significant achievements in energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy integration. This award highlights projects that demonstrate measurable improvements in resource management and sustainable practices across NASA facilities and operations.

  Category IV: NASA Excellence in Site Remediation Award

  Recognizes innovation in site remediation technologies, stakeholder engagement, exposure risk reduction, beneficial reuse, and expedited remediation efforts. This category celebrates projects that successfully address environmental challenges while maintaining safety and compliance.

  Category V: NASA Environmental Management Division Director’s Environment and Energy Award

  Selected by the director of the Environmental Management Divsion, this award honors exceptional leadership in advancing environmentally responsible mission success. It is reserved for individuals or teams demonstrating outstanding vision and commitment to environmental stewardship across NASA’s programs.

  Share

  Details

  Last Updated Mar 27, 2026

  Related Terms

  • General
  • Environmental Management Division (EMD)
  • Office of Strategic Infrastructure (OSI)

  Explore More

  2 min read

  NextSTEP-3 E: Network Extension for User Continuity and Sustainability (NEXUS) Ka-Band Backward-Compatible Relay Broad

  Article 3 hours ago 7 min read

  NASA Releases Artemis II Moon Mission Launch Countdown

  Article 24 hours ago 3 min read

  NASA Ames Experts Available for Artemis II Flight Test Interviews

  Article 2 days ago Keep Exploring

  Discover Related Topics

  Missions

  Humans in Space

  Climate Change

  Solar System