Vote Now! Top Space Stories of the Week - Sept. 11, 2011

9/11 Remembered From Space 10 Years Later, Star Trek Turns 45,

This week we planned 9/11 remembrance events from space, celebrated the 45th anniversary of Star Trek and contemplated when a dead NASA satellite would fall.Vote for your top space story of the week:

Next Mars Rover's High-Tech Landing May Raise Contamination Risks

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission will use a "sky crane" to lower the SUV-sized rover onto the martian surface. This direct touchdown risks contaminating the Red Planet's surface with Earth microbes hitchhiking on the rover's wheels. [Full Story]

Space Station Astronauts Hope for Swift Russian Rocket Fix

Two NASA astronauts on the International Space Station are contemplating longer-than-planned missions in the wake of a Russian rocket failure that has temporarily grounded new flights to space. [Full Story]

NASA Unveils New Detailed Photos of Apollo Moon Landing Sites

New photos from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show the Apollo moon landing sites in high-resolution, revealing details that could solve historical mysteries about the first manned moon landings. [Full Story]

Giant Black Hole Jets May Erupt Closer to Their Roots

Astronomers have pinpointed the massive black hole at the core of a nearby galaxy, but its intense radio jets appear to form closer to the black hole than expected, scientists say. [Full Story]

Dead NASA Satellite Falling From Space, But When & Where?

An out-of-control NASA satellite that is dead in space will plunge back to Earth in the next few weeks, but exactly when and where the spacecraft will fall are still a mystery, space agency and military officials said today. [Full Story]

9/11 Tributes Reach All the Way to Space, to Mars and Back

Ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, tributes to the thousands who lost their lives have extended into space, from Earth's orbit to the surface of Mars. [Full Story]

45 Years On, Why Has 'Star Trek' Stayed So Popular?

Star Trek first aired 45 years ago this week, but it's just as popular as it's ever been. The show, and later movies and series, came about during the space race and tackled civil rights topics head on. But that's not the key ingredient in its special sauce. [Full Story]

NASA's Shrinking Astronaut Corps May Be Too Thin, Report Finds

NASA's dwindling astronaut corps will not be enough to meet the demands of future space station missions if staffing levels continue as the space agency expects, according to a new report. [Full Story]

'Old Faithful' Sunspot Keeps Spouting Off Big Solar Flares

The sun has continued its string of outbursts this week, unleashing two new, powerful solar flares in two days from a region on its surface that space weather experts have now dubbed "Old Faithful." [Full Story]

After Missing Venus, Japanese Spacecraft Tries for 2nd Chance

Scientists fired up the Venus orbiter Akatsuki's engine Wednesday for the first time since the spacecraft overshot Venus nine months ago. [Full Story]