Discovery Lands Safely in Calif.

(NEWSER) - The shuttle Discovery detached from the International Space Station today and began its journey home to Earth, Space.com reports. The 13-day mission help resupply and repair the station; the seven crewmembers are scheduled to return to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 7:05pm Thursday. More»

(AP) - Astronauts hitched a giant chest of drawers to the International Space Station today containing a new freezer, sleeping compartment, and treadmill named for TV personality Stephen Colbert. The Italian-built chest—nicknamed Leonardo, as in da Vinci—was moved from space shuttle Discovery via a hefty robot arm and hoisted onto the space station. More»

(NEWSER) - The space shuttle Discovery and its seven-astronaut crew undocked from the International Space Station today after an eight-day mission, Space.com reports. Before heading toward earth, the shuttle flew around the station to get the first photos of its handiwork—the installation of a final set of solar panels that brought the station to full power. Discovery is due home Saturday. More»

Bottle will remain sealed, hit museums

(NEWSER) - The Discovery crew will leave the International Space Station today for the first of two spacewalks—and one of their missions is to capture a sample of space in a metal bottle. The bottle will be given to Japan's space agency, which says it will remain sealed and make the museum rounds to provide "a conduit between humans and space." The astronauts will also put some finishing touches on the space station, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More»

'A giant leap forward for tinmankind'

(NEWSER) - International Space Station astronauts won't need to worry about the newest crew member hogging the oxygen or clogging the toilet. Robonaut 2 will become the first humanoid robot in space when he heads to the station this week on the space shuttle Discovery's final mission, AP reports. "R2" will be put through a series of tests before being put to work helping astronauts with chores inside and outside the station. More»