Space Shuttle Columbia disaster

American Space Shuttle orbiter

On February 1, 2003, Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated as it re-entered the atmosphere over Texas and Louisiana, killing all seven astronauts on board. It was the second of two Space Shuttle missions to end in disaster, after the loss of Challenger and crew in 1986.

STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle Columbia. The mission ended on February 1, 2003, with the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, in which all seven crew members were killed in the re-entry on the Earth's atmosphere; the shuttle was destroyed along with most of its scientific payloads.

range of low hills inside Gusev crater on Mars

internal commission convened by NASA