NASA didn't completely dump the idea of manned extra-terrestrial flight. It just needed some space. Before the agency resumes its manned missions sometime in 2021, NASA will need somewhere to put the astronauts. A new generation of reusable spacecraft, capable of zipping beyond the current limits. Something like the …

The Moon? Boring. Mars? Meh. The next giant leap for mankind won't come in the form of an interplanetary trip, but rather a quest to the pile of rocks which weren't quite good enough to become planets. Yup, asteroids. And NASA's already started training for the trip.

Ohhh baby, space is about to get real sexy tonight. Starting around 9pm EST (for North America) the Moon and Venus will be just three degrees apart in the western sky, with Jupiter joining only ten degrees below. You can even watch it on a webcam. Check out the celestial bodies on them!

It's just a cool animation, but I love this simulation of the proposed test flight of the first Orion capsule. Called Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1), Orion will reach an altitude higher than any other manned spacecraft since 1973.

Heads up if you hold a degree in math, science or engineering and have logged hours flying high-performance jet aircraft. NASA is looking for its next class of astronauts!

NASA has just started work on the first space-bound Orion capsule. Here you can see a robotic arm welding the new spaceship. It will be NASA's first manned ship in space after Atlantis returned on July 21, 2011.

Lockheed Martin's Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV) is still many years and years away from seeing the cold vacuum of space. Until then, it'll see the cold water of NASA's Langley testing pool, getting repeatedly dunked at 55 MPH.

The top and bottom parts of this image are the bulkhead and the nosecone of the Orion spacecraft. The machine on the left is welding them without melting the metal. How? Using MAGIC! OK, I lied. It's not magic.

Watch the video of the completely successful—and awesome—Orion Launch Abort System test. Hey NASA, in the future, please give me a call. I'll sign any papers you want, but I must get inside for the next ride.

It's confirmed: Space is bubbling with the potential for life. The Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared—on board the Herschel Space Observatory—has sent a high resolution analysis of the Orion Nebula's chemistry. It has scientists very excited.