Vote Now! Top Space Stories of the Week - Oct. 14, 2012

Asteroids, a 'Space Jump and Endeavour's L.A. Home

balazsgardi.com/Red Bull Content Pool

Last Week scientists discovered a planet likely made of diamond, Space Shuttle Endeavour took a road trip, and a house-sized asteroid zoomed close to Earth. See the top stories of the last week here.
FIRST STOP: Skydiver Makes 'Space Jump'

World's Highest Skydive

Red Bull Stratos

An Austrian daredevil plummeted into the record books today (Oct. 14), breaking the mark for highest-ever skydive after leaping from a balloon more than 24 miles above Earth's surface. Add one more feat: Going supersonic.

Felix Baumgartner stepped into the void nearly 128,000 feet (39,000 meters) above southeastern New Mexico Sunday at just after 12 p.m. MT (2 p.m. ET, 1800 GMT), then landed safely on the desert floor about 20 minutes later. [Full Story]

NEXT: House-Size Asteroid Passes Earth

House-Size Asteroid Gives Earth a Close Shave Today

Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project

An asteroid the size of a house will buzz Earth today (Oct. 12) but poses no risk of hitting our planet, scientists say. [Full Story]
NEXT: Space Shuttle Endeavour Embarks on L.A. Road Trip

Space Shuttle Endeavour Embarks on L.A. Road Trip

collectSPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman

Space shuttle Endeavour has come home — finally.

The iconic black and white orbiter, which flew 25 times to space over the past two decades, arrived at the California Science Center (CSC) Sunday afternoon (Oct. 14) to begin its new mission as a museum exhibit. [Full Story]
NEXT: Curiosity Rover's Pet Mars Rock 'Jake'

Curiosity Rover's Pet Mars Rock 'Jake'

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

A rock on Mars being studied by NASA's Curiosity rover is unlike any Martian stone ever seen, and is surprisingly similar to an unusual, but well-known, kind of rock on Earth. [Full Story]
NEXT: Super-Earth Planet Likely Made of Diamond

Super-Earth Planet Likely Made of Diamond

Haven Giguere

A planet made largely of diamond has been discovered orbiting a nearby star. [Full Story]
NEXT: New Rules for Meteorite Hunters Unveiled

New Rules for Meteorite Hunters Unveiled

Lisa Warren, courtesy of NASA

It’s official! A fishing license for the sky. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the U.S. Department of the Interior has issued Instruction Memorandum No. 2012-182. It establishes policy governing the collection of meteorites found on public lands. [Full Story]
NEXT: SpaceX Dragon Capsule Arrives at Space Station With Precious Cargo

SpaceX Dragon Capsule Arrives at Space Station With Precious Cargo

NASA TV

A privately built robotic space capsule arrived at the International Space Station early Wednesday (Oct. 10) to make the first-ever commercial cargo delivery to the orbiting lab under a billion-dollar deal with NASA. [Full Story]
NEXT: 'Bright Object' On Mars Actually Plastic from Curiosity Rover

'Bright Object' On Mars Actually Plastic from Curiosity Rover

NASA/JPL-Caltech

A small piece of NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has apparently fallen off into the Red Planet dirt, scientists announced today (Oct. 9). [Full Story]
NEXT: 2012 Nobel Physics Prize Goes to Quantum Optics Pioneers

2012 Nobel Physics Prize Goes to Quantum Optics Pioneers

Copyright © The Nobel Foundation

The 2012 Nobel Prize in physics went to French physicist Serge Haroche and American physicist David Wineland for their work on quantum optics, which has probed the relationship between light and matter. [Full Story]
NEXT: Singer Sarah Brightman Will Ride Russian Rocket to Space

Singer Sarah Brightman Will Ride Russian Rocket to Space

SarahBrightman.com

British soprano singer Sarah Brightman has announced her plan to ride a Russian rocket into space for a 10-day visit to the International Space Station. [Full Story]
NEXT: 'Angry Birds Star Wars' Launching Next Month

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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.