After the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986, researchers recovered the crew members’ remains from the spacecraft’s debris. The seven astronauts’ remains—Francis R. Scobee, Michael J. Smith, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, Gregory Jarvis, and Christa McAuliffe—were discovered among the wreckage collected from the ocean floor.

We took the remains to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, for investigation and identification following the rescue attempts. After the identification process, their families received the bodies for private burial.

The Challenger tragedy had a tremendous impact on NASA and the entire nation, prompting a lengthy study into the accident’s causes and subsequent safety changes in the space shuttle program. Future astronauts and scientists continue to draw inspiration from the crew members’ commitment to space exploration and their legacy.

More details are in the video below: