NASA Will Hold a Memorial for Fallen Apollo Astronauts and Space Shuttles

A ceremony honoring astronauts who died on missions (photo: doc. NASA)

NASA will hold an annual Memorial Day on Thursday, January 22. This event is held to commemorate the astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 mission as well as the Challenger and Columbia shuttle missions.

This ceremony is always held every January to honor the mission crew who lost their lives in support of sustainable space exploration. In this year's ceremony, the honor will be led by NASA's new official, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

Isaacman will lay a wreath at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia at 1 p.m. local time. On the same day, various NASA facilities centers across the US will also hold memorial ceremonies.

The Johnson Space Center in Houston will hold a wreath-laying ceremony accompanied by a flight of a NASA T-38 fighter plane. In Florida, the Kennedy Space Center will hold a special event at the Space Shuttle Atlantis building with the tradition of ringing the warning bell.

Meanwhile, the Ames Research Center in California and Langley in Virginia will hold a memorial through the reading of the names of astronauts who died in duty. Each location has a different way of remembering the service of astronauts, ranging from lighting candles to installing half-staff flags.

The Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama will hold a wreath-laying ceremony led by the mission safety directorate. Meanwhile, the Stennis Center in Mississippi will invite all staff to gather in a joint prayer session for the safety of future missions.

All people, both in the US and other countries, can watch the tribute event through NASA's official website. Through this tribute event, the US space agency is committed to honoring the legacy of courage left by the fallen astronauts.