While filming a History Channel show off the coast of Florida, divers stumbled across debris from the Challenger space shuttle at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
The diver crew were participating in a show entitled “The Bermuda Triangle: Into Cursed Waters”, which explores the lore behind the series of missing vessels and air crafts lost within the Bermuda Triangle (the U.S. Government has debunked these myths).
When the piece of the Challenger Space Shuttle was discovered, divers were actually seeking out the wreckage of the PBM Martin Mariner Rescue Plane, which inexplicably disappeared in 1945.
After spotting the 20-foot-section on the sea floor and noticing its signature 8-inch tiles, which was more modern than a World War Two-era aircraft, the dive team reached out to NASA. The space agency confirmed that this is the first time in 25 years that a piece of the Challenger shuttle has been found.
The documentary showing footage of the Challenger Space Shuttle will debut on the History Channel next week, on November 22.
The Challenger shuttle exploded and fragmented shortly after takeoff in 1986, leading to the demise of the seven crew members on board. NASA is still evaluating how best to treat the divers’ find so that it honors the memory of those who were onboard the space shuttle.
“This discovery gives us an opportunity to pause once again, to uplift the legacies of the seven pioneers we lost, and to reflect on how this tragedy changed us,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson.