In the seven days we learned the sad news of moonwalker Neil Armstrong's death, seen the Mars rover Curiosity make a move, pondered new theories about the Big Bang and a new hovercar concept. See the top stories of the last week here. <p>FIRST STOP: Neil Armstrong Dies at Age 82
Neil Armstrong, an American icon and the first man ever to walk on the moon, died Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, due to complications from heart surgery. <p>Armstrong commanded NASA's Apollo 11 mission to make the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969. He also commanded Gemini 8, which featured NASA's first space docking. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17298-neil-armstrong-dead-first-moonwalker-apollo-11.html>Full Story</a>] p>NEXT: Mars Rover Fires Laser
NASA’s Curiosity laser test-fired its rock-zapping laser for the first time Sunday (Aug. 19). [<a href=http://www.space.com/17179-mars-rover-curiosity-fires-laser-rock.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: LEGO May Make Mars Rover Curiosity Toy After 10,000 Votes
The existence of more than 40 new alien planets has been confirmed by NASA's Kepler spacecraft, using a new technique that analyzes the gravitational tugs each world has on sibling planets orbiting their host stars. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17189-alien-planets-dozens-found-kepler-telescope.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: Mirrors Finished for NASA's New James Webb Space Telescope
A resurrected hover vehicle won't fly through dense forests as effortlessly as the "Star Wars" speeder bikes from "Return of the Jedi," but its intuitive controls could someday allow anyone to fly it without pilot training. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17192-hover-vehicle-star-wars.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: Alien Planet Haul: NASA Space Telescope Spots 41 New Exoplanets
NASA's Curiosity Mars rover took a giant leap this weekend toward becoming an official LEGO toy.[<a href=http://www.space.com/17186-mars-rover-curiosity-lego-toy-potential.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: New Hover Vehicle Recalls 'Star Wars' Bike
One of the most challenging parts of NASA’s huge James Webb Space Telescope, the building of its ultrasophisticated mirror system, is now finished, and the mirrors are ready for shipping to NASA. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17202-nasa-james-webb-space-telescope-mirrors.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: Big Bang Was Actually a Phase Change, New Theory Says
A team of physicists says the Big Bang should be modeled as a phase change: the moment when an amorphous, formless universe analogous to liquid water cooled and suddenly crystallized to form four-dimensional space-time, analogous to ice. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17217-big-bang-phase-change-theory.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: Ingredients for Big Black Holes Detected in Milky Way's Core
Astronomers using a Japanese telescope have discovered evidence for how giant supermassive black holes grow at the cores of galaxies. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17215-black-holes-seeds-found-milky-way.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: Mars Rover Aces First Test Drive on Red Planet
Researchers have found several galaxies around the universe that look a lot like our own Milky Way. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17251-milky-way-twin-galaxies.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: NASA Finds Spiny Dinosaur Prints in Own Backyard
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has aced its first drive on the Red Planet today (Aug. 22), snapping photos of its tracks to commemorate the Martian mobility milestone. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17240-mars-rover-curiosity-test-drive-success.html>Full Story</a> <p>NEXT STOP: First Milky Way Galaxy 'Twins' Found
At NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, some of the most brilliant minds in the world work to build the spacecraft that humans use to explore their universe. But where space scientists now roam, dinosaurs used to call home, according to dino-hunter Ray Stanford. [<a href=http://www.space.com/17210-nasa-goddard-dinosaur-prints.html>Full Story</a>
