Teenaged activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai recently received yet another honor when a NASA scientist named an asteroid after her.
NASA's Amy Mainzer discovered the asteroid in 2010, which, according to the International Astronomical Union, gave her the right to choose the asteroid's name. The asteroid, previously dubbed as 316201 will now forever be known as Malala 316201 or 2010 ML48.
The asteroid is almost 2,500 miles across and sits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Its orbit takes it around the sun every five-and-a-half years.
Mainzer chose Malala's name because she wanted to highlight the contributions of women to the world. Currently, very few asteroids don the names of women, particularly women of color.
"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," says Mainzer.
Last year, Youfsafzai became the youngest recipient to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize for her work as an activist fighting for women's rights and education. She started a blog when she was around 12 years old detailing what life was like for a young woman under Taliban occupation. She was also the subject of a BBC documentary that resulted in her rise to prominence.
In 2012, Taliban assassins targeted and shot Youfsafzai while she boarded a school bus. However, even after that, she continued her activism, and kept on speaking up about human rights. In 2013, Time Magazine included Youfsazai in its "The Most 100 Influential People In The World" list.
Mainzer used the Near-Earth Object WISE (NEOWISE) telescope to discover asteroid, 316201 Malala (2010 ML48). The telescope's initial mission is to look for asteroids and comets close to Earth orbit. While it's been active, NEOWISE has discovered more than 34,000 celestial objects. In 2013, the telescope got a new mission to identify near-Earth objects that could pose a threat to the planet.
Mainzer has been an astronomer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for about 10 years. After stating that she always dreamed of being a scientist, Mainzer also wrote some encouraging words for girls interested in science:
"My advice to young girls is that science and engineering are for everyone!" writes Mainzer on the Malala Fund Blog. "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."
[Photo Credit: Southbank Centre | Flickr]
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