Apollo 11 legend dies and 5 other top space and science stories this week

And then, there is Earth. When we think about space, we rarely consider our own planet, a “blue marble” against the dark void. Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins, who we lost this week, reminded us what a marvel it truly is.

“Strangely enough, it looks fragile somehow,” he said. “You want to be good to it. All the beauty, it was wonderful.”

Defying gravity

It’s hard to lose our heroes. This week, we bid farewell to Collins, the command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission. He leaves behind a legacy that will inspire future space explorers to “carry the fire.” He died Wednesday at age 90…