United States Astronaut. Chosen as an astronaut in 1996, she was serving as a Mission Specialist on the United States Space Shuttle “Columbia” when on February 1, 2003 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration lost all communication and radar contact with the shuttle just minutes before a 9:16AM scheduled landing time. A short time later it was confirmed that the “Columbia” had exploded over eastern Texas, and that there were no survivors. Lost in the tragedy along with Specialist Clark were crew members Commander Rick Husband, Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramone, Pilot William McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, and Mission Specialist David Brown. (bio by: Julie Karen Hancock  (Cooper) Jackson)