3352 McAuliffe planet was named in memory of Christa McAuliffe (1948–1986), teacher, civilian astronaut and one of the seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on 28 January 1986. The minor planets , , , , , and were named for the other crew members of the ill-fated STS-51-L mission. The approved naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 26 March 1986 (). 3352 McAuliffe 3352 McAuliffe (), provisional designation , is a rare-type asteroid and suspected binary system, classified as near-Earth object of the Amor group, approximately 2 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered
Christa Merten Christa Merten Christa Merten (née Basche; 14 October 1944, Dobbertin, Germany – 1 July 1986, Marbella, Spain), was a West German athlete and Olympian who competed for West Germany in the 1960s and 70s in the 800, 1500 and 3000 meter runs and in cross country running. On July 31, 1971, she set a world record in Lübeck with Ellen Tittel, Sylvia Schenk, and Hildegard Falck in the 800 meter relay. Merten started the 1500 meter run at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 800 meter run at the 1971 European Athletics Championships, but failed to reach the finals. She