Thirty years ago on Thursday, the space shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after lift-off, its shattered remains—and its crew—plunging 60,000 feet into the Atlantic Ocean. It is tempting, on this anniversary, to revisit the accident and the horror of watching Challenger’s rocket explode, an event that crippled the U.S. space program for several years.

But time’s arrow points only one way, and reliving catastrophes doesn’t change their outcome. No matter how badly we might wish that this time, as we watch that footage, Challenger will safely sail into space, it won’t.

Instead, now is a time to remember those who have lost their lives in humankind’s quest to unchain themselves from the bonds of Earth and touch the faces of