Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week - Sept. 8, 2013

NASA Moon Probe Launches, SpaceShipTwo Record-Breaking Flight & More

Kenneth Brown/Aerospace Photography

Last week a NASA moon probe launched to hunt 40-year mystery, Virgin Galactic's record-breaking SpaceShipTwo test flight set stage for passenger trips and scientists puzzled over mystery alignment of dying stars.

FIRST STOP: Liftoff! NASA Moon Probe Launches from Va. to Hunt 40-Year Lunar Mystery

Liftoff! NASA Moon Probe Launches from Va. to Hunt 40-Year Lunar Mystery

NASA/Carla Cioffi

NASA began a new trek to the moon Friday night with a dazzling launch from Virginia that sent a spacecraft soaring toward Earth's nearest neighbor to probe the thin lunar atmosphere and, just maybe, solve a 40-year space mystery. [Full Story]

NEXT: Virgin Galactic's Record-Breaking SpaceShipTwo Test Flight Sets Stage for Passenger Trips By 2014

Virgin Galactic's Record-Breaking SpaceShipTwo Test Flight Sets Stage for Passenger Trips By 2014

Kenneth Brown/Aerospace Photography

Virgin Galactic's private spaceship flew higher and faster than it ever had before on Thursday (Sept. 5), giving company officials confidence that the vehicle is on track to start carrying passengers on suborbital jaunts next year. [Full Story]

NEXT: TV's 'Futurama' Bids a Sci-Fi Farewell, Again

TV's 'Futurama' Bids a Sci-Fi Farewell, Again

Futurama TM and © 2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

The final episode of “Futurama” aired Wednesday night on Comedy Central. Eulogizing the show is always a dicey proposition, however, since it has come back from the dead several times before. [Full Story]

NEXT: Monster Saturn Storm Dredged Up Icy Water from the Deeps

Monster Saturn Storm Dredged Up Icy Water from the Deeps

NASA/JPL-Caltech/SSI/University of Arizona/University of Wisconsin

A colossal storm that raged on Saturn in 2010 and 2011 churned water ice up from deep within the ringed planet's thick atmosphere, a new study reports. [Full Story]

NEXT: Ingredient for Life More Plentiful on Ancient Mars Than Earth

Ingredient for Life More Plentiful on Ancient Mars Than Earth

NASA/ESA

A key chemical ingredient for life may have been more abundant on early Mars than on early Earth, researchers say. [Full Story]

NEXT: Wow! NASA's Late-Night Moon Launch Wows Stargazers (Jaw-Dropping Photos)

Wow! NASA's Late-Night Moon Launch Wows Stargazers (Jaw-Dropping Photos)

Ben Gallop

NASA's spectacular nighttime launch of the LADEE moon probe Friday (Sept. 6) promised to amaze spectators up and down the U.S. East Coast. See the jaw-dropping photos. [Full Story]

NEXT: NASA Studying 4 Landing Site Options for 2016 Mars Mission

NASA Studying 4 Landing Site Options for 2016 Mars Mission

NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA is weighing candidate landing sites for its next mission to the surface of Mars, a three-legged InSight probe that will study the Red Planet's core in 2016. The $425 million mission will launch toward Mars in March 2016 and land near the planet's equator six months later. [Full Story]

NEXT: Japan's Kirobo Talking Robot Speaks 1st Words In Space (Video)

Japan's Kirobo Talking Robot Speaks 1st Words In Space (Video)

Kibo Robot Project

The world's first talking robot in space has uttered its first words in orbit, echoing famed moonwalking astronaut Neil Armstrong's "one small step" line, but this time for all robot-kind. [Full Story]

NEXT: Russian Cosmonaut Resigns Space Station Command for 'Better Job'

Russian Cosmonaut Resigns Space Station Command for 'Better Job'

NASA

A veteran Russian cosmonaut who was assigned to command the International Space Station in 2015 has unexpectedly resigned. Cosmonaut Yuri Lonchakov tendered his resignation to the Russian federal space agency Thursday (Sept. 5). [Full Story]

NEXT: Tasty Science! Baker Creates Out-of-This-World Planet Cakes (Photos)

Tasty Science! Baker Creates Out-of-This-World Planet Cakes (Photos)

Cakecrumbs

A baker based in Australia has baked a cake in the shape of a planet, layers and all. See photos and read about her inspiration here. [Full Story]

NEXT: Mystery Alignment of Dying Stars Puzzles Scientists

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Space.com Staff
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.