This week we discovered that meteorites rained on earth, found out the secret behind a spy satellite and said goodbye to the space shuttle in just some of the stories that came from space this past week. <p>Vote for your top space story of the week:
Astronaut Ron Garan is adjusting to life back on Earth after returning recently from a long-duration stay at the International Space Station. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13115-earth-space-astronaut-ron-garan-interview.html">Full Story</a>]
A series of impacts, rather than a single powerful punch, knocked Uranus on its side, new research suggests. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13231-planet-uranus-knocked-sideways-impacts.html">Full Story</a>]
ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft has discovered an ozone layer high in the atmosphere of Venus. Comparing its properties with those of the equivalent layers on Earth and Mars will help astronomers refine their searches for life on other planets. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13244-venus-atmosphere-ozone-layer.html">Full Story</a>]
A team of amateur rocketeers may have won John Carmack's Micro Prize, a challenge to launch a rocket above 100,000 feet and recover it in good shape. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13245-amateur-rocket-qu8k-carmack-prize.html">Full Story</a>]
Huge meteorites may not deserve the bad rap they've gotten as life-ending agents of destruction, scientists say. In fact, cataclysmic collisions in space may have set the stage for the rise of life on Earth, scientists say. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13252-meteor-impacts-earth-life.html">Full Story</a>]
A big German satellite near the end of life is expected to plunge back to Earth this month, just weeks after a NASA satellite fell from orbit, and where this latest piece of space junk will hit is a mystery. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13261-german-satellite-falling-earth-rosat-risk.html">Full Story</a>]
New observations have allowed astronomers to establish a timeline for what is known as the age of re-ionization. During this phase the fog of hydrogen gas in the early universe was clearing, allowing ultraviolet light to pass unhindered for the first time. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13259-distant-galaxies-universe-reionization-timeline.html">Full Story</a>]
The space shuttle isn't coming out of retirement, so people should just let it go, experts told Congress Wednesday. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13274-space-shuttle-rip-retirement-congress.html">Full Story</a>]
A team of amateur astronomers has discovered a near-Earth asteroid, highlighting the contributions regular folks can make to space science and planetary defense. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13272-asteroid-discovery-amateur-astronomers-2011-sf108.html">Full Story</a>]
To retire the space shuttle Endeavour, NASA must ship the orbiter across the country to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. The Mayor of LA plans a big parade to celebrate. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13282-space-shuttle-endeavour-retirement-california-parade.html">Full Story</a>]
Phil Pressel had kept a secret for 46 years. A secret that he shared with no one, not even his wife, since he first went to work for the Perkin-Elmer optics company in 1965. [<a href="http://www.space.com/13287-secret-spy-satellite-designer-reveals-lifes-work.html">Full Story</a>]
