From apes on Mars to punchy solar flares, it's been a busy week in space. Vote now for the week's best space story. <br><br>FIRST STOP: Strange Lump of Dark Matter Shouldn't Exist, But Does
A lonely clump of dark matter appears to have been left behind in space after a cluster of galaxies collided, in a surprising finding that runs counter to popular theory. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14773-strange-dark-matter-colliding-galaxies.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Sun Erupts With Major Solar Flare
Two unmanned spacecraft began mapping the moon's gravity field Tuesday (March 6) as part of a NASA mission to probe the structure and evolution of Earth's nearest neighbor. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14819-nasa-moon-gravity-probes-science.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: NASA Chief Defends Space Budget Needs to Congress
-- Scientists have found new geologic evidence that an asteroid may have slammed into what is now Mexico around 12,900 years ago, killing off humans and large mammals. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14793-comet-earth-impact-younger-dryas.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Survives 1 Year in Orbit
The U.S. Air Force's robotic X-37B space plane has celebrated a silent anniversary, surpassing an entire year in Earth orbit on a mystery mission for American military. Meanwhile, a third X-37B space plane mission is being readied, and could even launch later this year, SPACE.com has learned. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14799-secret-air-force-space-plane-x37b.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Skydiver Capsule Ready for Supersonic 'Space Jump'
The capsule designed to take Felix Baumgartner to the stratosphere ahead of his record-attempt skydive is mission-ready, officials announced today. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14804-space-jump-supersonic-skydive-capsule.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Sun Fires Off 2 Huge Solar Flares in One-Two Punch
The sun unleashed a cosmic double whammy Tuesday (March 6), erupting with two major flares to cap a busy day of powerful solar storms. One of the flares is the most powerful solar eruption of the year so far - an X5.4 solar flare. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14811-huge-solar-flares-erupt-sun.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Twin NASA Moon Probes Begin Mapping Lunar Gravity
A major solar flare erupted from the sun late last night (March 4) sending an explosion of plasma and charged particles hurtling toward Earth. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14780-sun-storm-solar-flare-eruption.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Comet May Have Collided With Earth 13,000 Years Ago
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden went to the Hill Wednesday (March 7) to defend his recent 2013 budget request against critical Congress members. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14825-nasa-budget-congress-2013.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Huge Asteroid Impact Linked to Moon's Magnetic Hotspots
A giant asteroid collision with the moon that created the solar system's largest known impact crater may have spawned the surprisingly strong magnetic anomalies seen on the moon, a new study suggests. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14836-asteroid-collision-moon-magnetism.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Earth-like Alien Planets May Hide in Dust Around Distant Stars
Stars with disks of debris around them might be good targets to search for Earth-like alien planets, researchers say. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14847-earthlike-alien-planets-star-dust.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Mars Imagined: Sci-Fi's Enduring Attraction to the Red Planet
"John Carter," Disney's new science fiction blockbuster, is not the first depiction of life on Mars. For nearly 100 years, science fiction has had a love affair with the Red Planet. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14849-mars-science-fiction-legacy.html>Full Story</a>] <br><br>NEXT: Skywatchers Catch Amazing Aurora Views After Solar Storm
Outbursts from the sun over the past week are now paying dividends to skywatchers who've caught amazing views of auroras recently. [<a href=http://www.space.com/14855-skywatchers-photograph-auroras-solar-storm.html>Full Story</a>]
