NASA Names Asteroid After Malala Yousafza

Malala Yousafza is not only the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize but now also has an asteroid named in her honor.

AsianScientist (Apr. 13, 2015) – An asteroid in the Main Belt between Mars and Jupiter has been named after 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Ms. Malala Yousafza.

Yousafza has been campaigning for schooling to be made accessible to girls since she was 11 years old when she started a blog documenting her life in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. In 2012, she was targeted by the Taliban for her outspoken efforts and shot in the head. Thankfully, she survived the attack and went on to be the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

The asteroid's position relative to the Sun (center). Credit: Malala Fund Blog.
The asteroid’s position relative to the Sun (center). Credit: Malala Fund Blog.

Previously known as Asteroid 316201, the newly named asteroid was discovered by Dr. Amy Mainzer, an astronomer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Upon finding out that few asteroids have been named in honor of the contributions of women, she named the asteroid 316201 Malala or 2010 ML48.

The ML48 asteroid (red, circled) amidst stars (blue). Credit: Malala Fund Blog.
The ML48 asteroid (red, circled) amidst stars (blue). Credit: Malala Fund Blog.

The asteroid was discovered with the help of the NEOWISE space telescope that orbits the Earth.

“My advice to young girls is that science and engineering are for everyone! We desperately need the brainpower of all smart people to solve some of humanity’s most difficult problems and we can’t afford to reject half the population’s,” said Mainzer. “Plus, it is a wonderful feeling to learn about the world around you—it’s a job you will fall in love with each day.”

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Source: Malala Fund Blog. Photo: Southbank Centre/Flickr/CC.
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