Divers looking to find the wreckage of a lost plane in the Bermuda Triangle have discovered, at the bottom of the sea, a part of the space shuttle Challenger.
In 1986, this ship exploded a few tens of seconds after taking off in Florida, killing all seven crew members, including Professor Christa McAuliffe.
The segment, remarkably preserved at the bottom of the Atlantic,
is one of the largest pieces found after this tragedy that marked space history, confirmed NASA on Thursday
.
In images of their discovery, made in the spring of 2022,
two divers surrounded by fish reveal the shuttle's iconic heat shield tiles beneath the sand
.
These small black squares covered the entire bottom of the ship, to allow it to withstand the infernal heat during its return to the atmosphere.
One of the two divers, Mike Barnette, assured the AFP agency that he experienced a true "emotional roller coaster" when he realized what he was touching.
"When we found it, it was a lot of different emotions
," recalls this marine biologist, whose hobby is exploring shipwrecks at the bottom of the water.
"I'm used to diving among wrecks that are tens or even hundreds of years old, but not a landmark of the space program!"
"I quickly realized that it was something I had lived through.
When (the accident) happened, I remember exactly where I was, seeing it live on television
," he said.
After his dive, he showed the images taken to an astronaut friend, who confirmed his discovery.
A few months later, NASA confirmed that it was indeed the Challenger shuttle.
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