Had Been Recovered From The Wreckage Of The Shuttle Following 1986 Accident

A soccer ball originally packed onto space shuttle Challenger in 1986 is now orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station, 31 years later.

The soccer ball was signed and presented to NASA astronaut Ellison Onizuka by soccer players -- including his daughter -- from Clear Lake High School, near NASA's Johnson Space Center. Onizuka was one of seven astronauts on board Challenger on Jan. 28, 1986, when it exploded shortly after liftoff.

Following the accident, the ball was recovered and returned to the high school, where it has been on display for the past three decades. Its history had begun to fade into obscurity when Principal Karen Engle learned of its origin. Soon after, astronaut Shane Kimbrough, whose son attends Clear Lake High School, offered to carry up a memento on the school's behalf, and she had the idea to send the soccer ball into space.

Kimbrough snapped this photo of the ball floating in front of the station's Cupola window in advance of Challenger anniversary and NASA's Day of Remembrance.

(Source: NASA. Image provided)

FMI: www.nasa.gov