Remembering Christa McAuliffe: A Source of Inspiration for Teachers

In 1986, the world was shocked by the tragic loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and its crew, including Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher to be selected to go to space. McAuliffe was a social studies teacher from New Hampshire who was chosen from thousands of applicants to participate in NASA’s Teacher in Space program.

McAuliffe saw the opportunity to fly to space as a chance to inspire her students and others to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. She believed that space exploration was an important part of our human experience, and that it was crucial to educate and inspire the next generation to continue exploring and discovering.