DAY OF REMEMBRANCE: Today, NASA will honor members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery, including the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia. This year’s NASA Day of Remembrance also marks 35 years since the Challenger tragedy.
“NASA has a unique culture that is fueled by possibility, set on a path to the next giant leap for humanity, and guided by its history,” said NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “The lessons of our past are the enduring legacy of the brave women and men who did not put limits on what could be achieved, and we all recognize the honor of being counted among them as part of the NASA family.”
Jurczyk will lead an observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, which will begin with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, followed by observances for the Apollo 1, Challenger, and Columbia crews.
Various NASA centers also will hold observances on the Day of Remembrance. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, attendance will be limited at these events. However, some will be available for online viewing.
NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in partnership with The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, will host a ceremony at the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy’s Visitor Complex with limited in-person invited guests, featuring remarks by Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana, as well as retired space shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. The ceremony will livestream at 11 a.m. EST on Kennedy’s Facebook account.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will share a prerecorded observance featuring remarks from Marshall Center Director Jody Singer, NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore, and a moment of silence. The event will appear on Marshall’s YouTube channel and will be shared on the center’s social media account.
Video and still images of various agency observances will be available at: https://www.nasa.gov/mediaresources.
The agency also is paying tribute to its fallen astronauts with special online content at: https://www.nasa.gov/dor.
