Do you remember the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)? This incident killed seven astronauts that went to space in a Columbia mission. The remains of the astronauts were seen around Texas state, according to NASA. The world was able to move on from the incident, but a Reddit post seemed to be reliving the memories of this grim incident.

Is that an astronaut helmet?

A Reddit post with an image of a wrecked astronaut helmet has been widely shared in the platform this Thursday, July 29. A day before the launch of the 2020 Mars rover 'Perseverance,' the post received over 3,000 comments and over 100,000 likes.

According to the post, the image above was the remains of one of the astronauts' helmets in the 2003 Columbian disaster. It was not yet verified whether the helmet was real, or if the picture itself was not modified. However, the posted image seemed to ignite the people's interests on the history of the grim tragedy behind the Columbian disaster.

History behind Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

17 years ago, the world was shocked about what happened to the NASA Space Shuttle Columbia. The space mission was conducted by the seven-crew member including Rick Husband, commander; Michael Anderson, payload commander; David Brown, mission specialist; Kalpana Chawla, mission specialist; Laurel Clark, mission specialist; William McCool, pilot; and Ilan Ramon, payload specialist from the Israeli Space Agency.

The spacecraft, called Columbia, was the very first space shuttle that successfully flies in space. Before the tragedy, 27 successful missions were conducted using the spacecraft. Unfortunately, its 28th did not go as planned.

Space reported that space mission STS-107 successfully left Earth on Jan. 16, 2003. The team performed pure research about the International Space Station. Around 80 experiments in life sciences, material sciences, fluid physics, and other matters.

When they're about to return to Earth on Feb. 1, 2003, after 16 days in space, the spacecraft was suddenly caught in a tragic event. NASA found out that there was a foam strike that took place during the launch. After Columbia left the ground for about 82 seconds, a piece of foam fell from the spacecraft that was originally attached to the external tank to the shuttle. 

"This is indeed a tragic day for the NASA family, for the families of the astronauts who flew on STS-107, and likewise is tragic for the nation," stated NASA's administrator at the time, Sean O'Keefe.

The search for the debris of the spacecraft and the remains of the astronauts' bodies took several weeks before finally ending its operation. The Columbia spacecraft's landing zone sheds over a zone of 2,000 square miles in east Texas alone. 

The agency learned a lot on the mission. Now, let's just hope it doesn't happen again.

ALSO READ: NASA Prepares Perseverance Mars Rover for Launch for its 2020 Mission to Discover Ancient Martian Life

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Written by Jamie P.