Space Shuttle Challenger disaster 30th anniversary: NASA remembers its heroes – Watch emotional videos

On the 30th anniversary of the Shuttle Challenger disaster, NASA is paying tribute to its fallen heroes.

Image credits: NASA

Washington: NASA paid tribute to its fallen heroes as it marked the 30th anniversary of the Shuttle Challenger disaster on Thursday, January 28, 2016.

NASA also released a series of inspirational, yet heart touching images and videos consisting of crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues as the agency remembered its astronauts who lost their lives in missions aimed at exploring outer space.

Challenger:

On January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after launch, the space shuttle Challenger exploded before the eyes of millions, taking lives of all seven crew members on board.

Watch the heart-breaking video below-

Apollo 1:

Astronauts Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee were killed when a fire swept through the command module during a preflight test on January 27, 1967.

The mission was to be the first crewed flight of Apollo, and was scheduled to launch February 21, 1967.

Watch the video below-

Columbia:

The seven-member crew of the STS-107 mission was just 16 minutes from landing when Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana as it reentered Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, making it one of the most tragic events in spaceflight history.

Among the crew was Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman in space.

The tragic explosion of the shuttle Columbia had forced NASA to suspend space shuttle flights for more than two years as it investigated the disaster.

Watch the heart whelming video below as NASA honors and remembers its heroes who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery:

(Source: NASA)