The US space agency yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger with a pledge to remember lost astronauts as it presses on toward Mars.
Wreath-laying ceremonies were planned for the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as NASA commemorated the seven lives lost on Jan. 28, 1986, as well as other deadly space disasters over the years.
“Space exploration is one of the most difficult endeavors we undertake, and from Apollo 1 to Challenger to Columbia, brave Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice in our quest to push new boundaries, and explore new frontiers,” US President Barack Obama said in a statement marking NASA’s annual Day of Remembrance.
Photo: AP / NASA
Shortly after taking office, Obama canceled a NASA program to return to the moon, saying he preferred to funnel resources into deep space exploration and aimed to have a human mission to Mars underway by the 2030s.
The other major shuttle accident was on Feb. 1, 2003, when seven people died aboard the Columbia shuttle when it broke into pieces while re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.
NASA also commemorated the three men who died in the Apollo 1 launch pad fire, before the nation ever made it the moon.
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