Seven hills in the Ramon Crater will be named after the victims of the Columbia disaster

This was announced this evening (Sunday) by President Moshe Katsav at an event held at the President's residence 

 The Nature Reserves Authority will call the seven basalt hills inside the Ramon Crater, which are called the Ramon Rays after the astronauts who perished in the Columbia disaster three years ago. This was learned this evening at the meeting of the President's Science Circle, which took place at the President's residence. According to the president, Moshe Katsav, Ilan Ramon and the members of the Columbia team symbolized the unifier and they will remain in our hearts and in the hearts of all humanity forever.
The event is attended by a delegation of family members of some of the astronauts who perished, as well as three of the astronauts of the space shuttle Discovery - in the only shuttle operation that took place in 2005, including Commander Eileen Collins.
Collins said that she was excited to see the Kinneret, the Jordan and the Dead Sea and the reflection of sunlight from the desert from space, and therefore wanted to come to Israel. She said that from space, when you look towards the horizon, you see how thin the atmosphere is and the richness of the colors, the blue of the water, the white of the ice and the clouds, and everything turns orange at sunset (every hour and a half), the polar lights, volcanoes emitting smoke, the turquoise of the coral reefs. Added to this is the ability to hover like an airplane on the planet. This is the experience that all astronauts dream of, probably to rest a little from the work of the experiments and the maintenance of the shuttle. I'm sure Ramon and his friends liked it too. It's just a pity that at our speed we quickly pass Israel. We are honored to dedicate the Columbia Hills to honor the crew members. I miss and think about them every day, for their love of space flights, for their dedication to space exploration and for the fact that we were like family. I was lucky enough to know them. During the preparations for the Discovery operation, we knew that our operation was the fulfillment of their wish. We took a photo of the crew into the cockpit to highlight our commitments. Discoveries are part of the human spirit. Dedicating the Columbia Hills will also help us to be closer to the team and preserve their inspiration to improve life on Earth.
Jonathan Clark, husband of Laurel Clark who died in the Columbia disaster said: "I want to thank the president and his wife and the people of the Ministry of Science for giving us a chance to come back. I was here less than a year ago and I feel like I'm coming home..|
Whereas Rona Ramon, who mentioned the Columbia hills, each bearing the name of one of the astronauts, including Ilan Ramon, and the mountain peak named after Columbia in the US and an area in the North Pole, as well as the seven asteroids named after the astronauts, now there is also an area named after them in Israel: "Reading hills The Ramon rays in the Ramon crater, named after the staff members, constitute the closing of a circle. On behalf of the Columbia team and Ilan, I thank President Katsav and the Nature Reserves and Gardens Authority for implementing this blessed initiative."

Yuval Peled - Director of the Planning and Development Division at the Nature Reserves Authority said that the Ramon Horns are basalt hills located in the heart of the Ramon Crater which is a nature reserve. They are named after Maktesh Ramon and the Nature and Parks Authority saw fit to point out the connection between the human spirit and nature - and to name them after Ilan Ramon and the staff members.

The event was also attended by four lecturers from the universities in Israel who were involved in the field of space. Detail - tomorrow.