The American space agency officially announced yesterday that the bodies of all seven astronauts who perished in the crash of the space shuttle "Columbia" two weeks ago have been identified.
The American space agency officially announced yesterday that the bodies of all seven astronauts who perished in the crash of the space shuttle "Columbia" two weeks ago have been identified. The bodies, which were transported to the pathology facility in Dover, Delaware, were positively identified using identification marks, teeth and DNA tests.
"We are working towards releasing all the remains of the bodies to the families for the purpose of conducting private burial ceremonies," said Eileen Hawley, a spokeswoman for NASA, yesterday. The remains of the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon's body have already been identified and buried in Israel.
Bob Cabana, who is in charge of space crews at NASA, said that "we derive comfort from the knowledge that we have brought our seven friends home." He thanked all the volunteers and local authorities who assisted in locating the remains of the bodies and said that in doing so they brought peace of mind to the families of the crew members and to the entire NASA family.
The American space agency also said that the burial and memorial ceremonies will be conducted by the astronauts' families themselves privately and that no date has yet been set for their existence.
