Former astronaut Janice Voss has passed away from breast cancer in Scottsdale, Arizona at the age of 55.

Voss joined NASA in 1973 while attending Purdue University and began working for NASA in 1977 as an instructor.

She became an astronaut in 1990 and logged five missions in space traveling over 18 million miles.

Her first flight was in 1993 on the Spacehab module. She flew on a mission to the Mir space station in 1995 and with the Microgravity Science Laboratory in 1997. This mission was cut short because of technical problems and the entire team flew again later in the year. Her last mission was in 2000 and included mapping the Earth’s surface.

Voss continued working for NASA at the Ames research center in California, and after leaving Ames in 2007, she worked as payload lead at the Johnson space Center.

Two 17-year old Canadian teenagers, Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, crafted a weather balloon and sent a plastic astronaut made of Lego pieces into space.

A video of the event shows segments of the journey which lasted for a little more than an hour and half.

By the end of the video the Lego man is shown holding a Canadian flag out in space. According to reports, the two teenagers used four cameras, a helium filled balloon and a cell phone equipped with GPS technology to capture the images and the voyage.

In addition, they used a parachute made of nylon. The parachute was used to ensure that the Lego man would return back to Earth without any hitches.

It was Ho who first approached his friend Muhammad with the idea. They had learned of similar projects by students in the United States and Britain and had a feeling their idea would be a success.

Mathew and Asad went online to search for inexpensive cameras. They sewed the parachute themselves. Reportedly, neither Ho nor Muhammad had any sewing experience.

According to reports, it took several months of preparation time before the final launch was made. The materials needed for the project was less than $500.

Two Toronto Students Launch A Lego Man Into Space

Scientists have discovered 50 new planets including one that could potentially support life.

The European Southern Observatory found the exoplanets recently and are excited by one in particular; HD 85512 b. This planet happens to orbit its star in the habitable zone which is where scientist believe is planets must orbit in orde to support life. In this habitable zone water could be present. Water is one of the necessary building blocks of life.

HD 85512 b is 35 light years away which is relatively close when compared to some of the other interstellar bodies. Called a ‘super Earth’ the planet is 3.6 more massive than our home planet. “I think we’re in for an incredibly exciting time.”

Lisa Kaltenegger, an expert on exoplanets said. “We’re not just going out there to discover new continents we’re actually going out there to discover brand new worlds.”

By Beth Owens

With the return of summer, the annual Perseids meteor shower provides astronomers and other stargazers amazing celestial sights, a welcome treat for anyone who loves to look up at the sky.

Unfortunately, the view of this year’s meteor shower will be hindered considerably by a full moon that is expected to take full effect at precisely the time when the light display is expected to be at its brightest, the night of August 12-13.

Although this year’s shower is taking place in conditions that are considered less than optimal, there will still be plenty of opportunities to see the “shooting stars” dance across the sky.

However, you will need to be a bit of a night owl in order to see the best portions of the shower. Astronomers suggest that the best time to see the meteor shower is between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m., the time of night when there is a minimum of ambient light.

Even if you can’t see the showers on Friday night, the Perseids meteor show will be ongoing for much of the coming week, albeit at less intensity.

Perseids Meteor Shower to Peak on Friday Night

While NASA just recently ended its manned space program, the national space organization is gearing up to launch a new unmanned spacecraft on Friday. The probe, which cost over a billion dollars, has been designed to explore Jupiter, the largest planet in the solar system.

The spacecraft, powered by nearly 20,000 photovoltaic cells, is expected to reach the gas giant some time in 2016. Scientists at NASA are hoping to study Jupiter in order to discover secrets about the formation of the early universe.

The probe will also attempt to detect the amount of water present in Jupiter’s atmosphere, a topic of increasing interest after new evidence was recently discovered that salt water may presently be flowing on a small portion of Mars.

In addition, the spacecraft will try to resolve many unanswered questions about the large planet, including whether the core of the planet is a solid mass or gaseous.

New Space Probe to Launch Towards Jupiter

It was the end of an era when the space shuttle Atlantis docked with the International Space Station for the last time on Sunday. Nearly one million spectators gathered at Kennedy Space center on Friday for and emotional sendoff for the shuttle’s final flight.

After a 30 year history, the current shuttles will be retired to make way for a new generation of spacecraft that will be utilized to put men on an asteroid and then onto Mars. Upon docking, Space Station flight engineer, Ron Garan, radioed the crew, transmitting, “Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time.”

An hour before docking, Commander Chris Ferguson somersaulted the craft so it could be inspected for any damage to the shuttle’s heat resistant tiles; a maneuver that was added after the 2003 accident that claimed the lives of seven astronauts when the spacecraft Columbia broke apart entering the earth’s atmosphere.

After 30 years of making history, NASA sent off its space shuttle Atlantis for the last time. Gloomy weather did not rain on the astronaut’s parade as the shuttle left Kennedy Space Center this morning.

Atlantis sends up a crew of five, which includes Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialist’s Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. An estimated 1 million viewers watched on their TV sets, while another 750,000 got to see it live from nearby spots. After today’s 135th and final launch for the space shuttle NASA will begin to lay off thousands of workers. From now on only Russia’s space capsules will have the ability to send astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

Although it was a glorious launch, many American’s happiness floated off into the air as the realization of not having the ability to launch astronauts anymore sets in.

European astronomers announced an amazing discovery this week. After searching through images taken by an infrared telescope in Hawaii, they have announced the finding of a quasar, ULAS J1120+0641, that is 12.9 billion light years away, and has a black hole at its center that is 2 billion times more massive than the sun.

The discovery is important not only because of the massiveness of the numbers involved – the quasar gives off 60 trillion times as much light as the sun and is the brightest object ever discovered – but also because of what it tells scientists about the early history of the universe.

The quasar was around when the universe was 770 million years old, making it also the oldest quasar ever discovered.

Although larger black holes have been found, astronomers have never located one this massive from this early in the universe’s history. Now scientists must figure out how such a massive black hole was created so soon after the Big Bang.

Oldest, Brightest Quasar Ever Found

A small asteroid that is being called 2011 MD will sail just close enough to earth on Monday to flirt with medium to large scale telescopes.

Scientists have said that 2011 MD measures approximately 33 feet in length and will pass over the Atlantic Ocean at around 9:30am EDT at a distance of about 7,500 feet. Another small asteroid flew by Earth earlier this year at a distance of approximately 3,400 feet.

The discovery of 2011 MD was made by scientists using telescopes in New Mexico.

Scientists have said that tiny asteroids such as this one pass through Earth’s atmosphere about once every 6 years.

Asteroid to Near Earth Monday

Commander Mark Kelly, husband of Senator Gabrielle Gifford who was wounded in the January 8th shooting spree in Tucson Arizona, has announced his intentions to retire from both NASA and the U.S. Navy as of October 1st of this year.

Kelly an astronaut and U.S. Navy Captain has flown four shuttle missions for NASA, including the final mission for the shuttle Endeavor. Kelly joined NASA as an astronaut candidate in 1996 and has served them loyally since. NASA praised Kelly on his service and his achievements.

Kelly, who said his decision was not an easy one, intends to help his wife with her continued recovery. As part of that process, the couple is now working together on Gabrielle’s memoirs.

NASA Confirms Mark Kelly's Retirement Plans