Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week – Dec. 29, 2013

Holidays in Space, a Record-Breaking Spacewalk and More

Cosmonauts Oleg Kotov, Expedition 38 commander, and flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Dec. 27, 2013. NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio took this photo from inside the station. — NASA/Rick Mastracchio, via @AstroRM

Last week cosmonauts hit a snag in a record-breaking spacewalk, astronauts celebrated the holidays in orbit and we looked ahead at the must-see skywatching events in 2014. See the best stories from last week here.

FIRST STOP: Spacewalking Astronauts Gift Space Station with Christmas Eve Cooling Pump Fix

Spacewalking Astronauts Gift Space Station with Christmas Eve Cooling Pump Fix

NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins flies above Peru while attached to the station's robotic arm during a spacewalk. — NASA TV

Two NASA astronauts have completed repairs on the International Space Station’s vital cooling system.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Cosmonauts Hit Snag with HD Cameras in Record-Breaking Spacewalk

Cosmonauts Hit Snag with HD Cameras in Record-Breaking Spacewalk

Spacewalking cosmonauts installed new HD video cameras on the International Space Station Friday (Dec. 27), only to uninstall them later due to a data glitch.

[See How It Happened Here]

NEXT: Strange New Worlds: The Amazing Alien Planet Discoveries of 2013

Strange New Worlds: The Amazing Alien Planet Discoveries of 2013

100 Billion Alien Planets — NASA/JPL-Caltech

A rundown of the most exciting exoplanet discoveries of 2013.

[Full Story]

NEXT: China Targets Moon Sample-Return Mission in 2017

China Targets Moon Sample-Return Mission in 2017

Robotic Lunar Exploration China's Phase-Three Planning — CNSA

China’s amazing moon landing on Dec. 14 is just the beginning of the country’s operations on the lunar surface. See how China’s next step on the moon is to retrieve samples of the lunar surface and return them to Earth.

[Full Story]

NEXT: 11 Must-See Skywatching Events in 2014

11 Must-See Skywatching Events in 2014

Bright Comet Over Mars Illustration Kim Poor — Kim Poor

Mars approaches Earth; A total eclipse of the Moon near to one of the brightest stars in the sky; A potentially spectacular meteor shower in late May; a partial solar eclipse for much of North America in October. We'll provide advance details on these and other celestial events that will occur in 2014.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Christmas in Space: Astronauts Celebrate Holidays in Orbit

Christmas in Space: Astronauts Celebrate Holidays in Orbit

NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio performs a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Dec. 22, 2013, the first of two spacewalks to replace an ammonia coolant pump in one of two cooling loops on the orbiting lab. — NASA

Here’s how the astronauts are planning to spend their Christmas holiday in space.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Scientists Petition U.S. Congress for Return to the Moon

Scientists Petition U.S. Congress for Return to the Moon

China’s Chang’e 3 robotic landing on the moon has helped spur a political crusade in the United States to more aggressively explore and utilize the moon.

[Full Story]

NEXT: Incredible Technology: How to Mine Water on Mars

Incredible Technology: How to Mine Water on Mars

Mars One plans to launch an unmanned orbiter that could extract water from Mars. Here’s a look at how water extraction might work on the Red Planet.

[Full Story]

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.