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Emporia State University

Gwen Larson, Director of Media Relations
620-341-5528 | glarson1@emporia.edu

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ESU marks 40th Anniversary of Challenger disaster with week of events

Jan. 23, 2026 Administration

Emporia State University is honoring the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger on the 40th anniversary of the explosion that claimed the lives of all aboard. A week of activities beginning Monday, Jan. 26 is led by the McNair Scholars Program in collaboration with the Peterson Planetarium and other ESU departments. The McNair Scholars Program, a federal initiative created in 1989 by Congress to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies, is named after Challenger mission specialist Dr. Ronald McNair. Christa McAuliffe, a teacher, was also an astronaut aboard the ill-fated shuttle.