NASA astronomer names asteroid in honor of Malala Yousafzai
The 'Malala' asteroid lies in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter
LAHORE (WebDesk) – An asteroid discovered by Dr. Amy Mainzer, an astronomer at National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, has been named after Pakistan’s youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate and activist for female education Malala Yousafzai. Mainzer informed of this event on Malala’s fund blog. Mainzer stated that she was pleased to announce that she had designated Asteroid 316201 discovered by her as 316201 Malala or 2010 ML48.
The ‘Malala’ asteroid lies in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter orbiting the sun every 5.5 years.
Mainzer stated that it was a great honor for her to name an asteroid after the young activist. The astronomer said her post doctoral fellow Dr. Carrie had suggested to her that no name had been designated to honor contributions of women, particularly women of color. She said the honorary name had been designated after Mainzer and Dr. Carrie read the young Nobel Prize laureate’s story. She said that Malala had deserved this honor.
Mainzer advised young girls that science and engineering were for everyone. She also said that the world needs the help of smart people to solve its problems.
