NASA DAY OF REMEMBRANCE, Jan 22, 2026

Update, January 20:  NASA just released details about their plans.

Original Entry: NASA’s annual Day of Remembrance to honor fallen astronauts is traditionally held on the fourth Thursday of January. That falls on January 22 in 2026, earlier than usual. Commemorations are held at Arlington National Cemetary, several NASA centers, and in partnership with the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at the Space Mirror at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex.

Among those honored on Remembrance Day are the crews of Apollo 1 who died when a fire broke out in their spacecraft during a pre-launch test on January 27, 1967, Challenger who died when their space shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch on January 28, 1986 (this year is the 40th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy), and Columbia who died when their space shuttle disintegrated during reentry after a 16-day mission on February 1, 2003.

The Astronauts Memorial Foundation will hold a special screening of a new documentary on Apollo 1 on Remembrance Day.

More information is on the Foundation’s website.