Vote Now! Best Space Stories of the Week - May 26, 2013

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Moon or Asteroid? Congress Debates Best Pit Stop to Mars

NASA

NASA's plan to lasso an asteroid for astronauts as a deep-space dry run for a future mission to Mars has some members of Congress wondering if the space agency would be better off setting its sights on the moon instead. [Full Story]

NEXT: Sally Ride, 1st US Woman in Space, to Be Awarded Medal of Freedom Posthumously

Sally Ride, 1st US Woman in Space, to Be Awarded Medal of Freedom Posthumously

NASA/Smithsonian/collectSPACE.com

Sally Ride, the United States' first woman in space, will be posthumously honored with the country's highest civilian commendation and the renaming of a high-flying camera.[Full Story]

NEXT: Exquisite Map of Cosmos Hints at Universe's Birth

Exquisite Map of Cosmos Hints at Universe's Birth

ESA and the Planck Collaboration

A map of the universe based on its oldest light is giving astronomers hope that they may be able to answer some of the deepest questions of the cosmos, including how it got started.[Full Story]

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Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
News and editorial team

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.