She became the first teacher selected for the NASA Teacher in Space programme. In 1986 she died along with the rest of the crew on Challenger when the space shuttle exploded soon after its launch.

Born in Framingham, Massachusetts, she started teaching in 1970. She impressed NASA officials with a course she had developed entitled ‘The American Woman’, which gained her access to the NASA programme.

NASA Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe receives a preview of microgravity during a special flight aboard NASA's KC-135 ‘zero gravity’ aircraft.

Image Credit: NASA