Christa McAuliffe was supposed to be the first American civilian in space — but her story ended in tragedy when her space shuttle exploded in 1986… See more👇

Craig Michaud/Wikimedia CommonsChrista McAuliffe’s gravestone in Concord, New Hampshire.

For more than two years, NASA didn’t send any astronauts to space. The disaster also ended the Teacher in Space Project, and NASA abandoned the attempt to send a civilian outside of the Earth’s atmosphere for the next 20 years. Finally, in 2007, teacher Barbara Morgan — who had been McAuliffe’s backup in 1986 — journeyed to space on the Endeavour.

Christa McAuliffe received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004. And in the years following her death, everything from schools to a planetarium to a crater on the moon were named in her memory. But in what’s perhaps the best legacy of all, both of McAuliffe’s children followed in her footsteps and became teachers.

The dedicated educator inspired hundreds of children to learn more about outer space, and her zeal for life perseveres in the memories of everyone who knew her. As McAuliffe herself put it, “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. Just get on.”