NASA named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on 12 April 2015 named Asteroid 316201 after Malala Yousafzai, the winner of 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

The asteroid is situated in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid orbits the sun every five-and-a-half years.

In October 2012, Malala was shot as she boarded a school bus in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. She had risen to prominence after appearing in a BBC documentary about life under the Pakistani Taliban who controlled the area, and were stifling women's rights and education.

After emergency medical treatment in the UK, she became a worldwide sensation, speaking in front of the UN and elsewhere about the right to education. She along with Kailash Satyarthi was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her efforts.