Christa McAuliffe was a teacher and astronaut who was set to the first teacher in space. She was a teacher in New Hampshire and taught social studies. She tragically died at the age of 37 when the Challenger space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds on Jan. 28, 1986. Christa was one of 7 astronauts who perished during the flight. During the mission, Christa was going to conduct experiments and teach lessons to her students from space. In addition to being the first teacher in space, she was always going to be the first private citizen in space. After being selected to participate in the NASA Teacher in Space Project, Christa underwent training before the launch. She is survived by her husband Steven, and two kids, Scott and Caroline. Christa was posthumously awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 2004. See more photos of Christa in our gallery.
