You could say that 2012 was the year of Mars. But that wouldn't be the whole story.
In 2012, we got the deepest glimpse into the universe. We heard Earth sing a melodious tune. We said goodbye to a national space hero. And yes, we began to scratch the surface of the mysterious Red Planet.
More than that, 2012 was the year that mankind reconnected with space. Although NASA retired its 30-year shuttle program, the U.S. government invested billions into the Curiosity rover and commercial spaceships. And private companies like SpaceX made revolutionary strides in getting us steps closer to commercial space flight. When tickets one day go on sale for trips to the moon, we'll look back on 2012 as the year that made it all possible.
We also had a lot of fun with space in 2012. A daredevil skydiver jumped from the edge of space. We watched a 155,000-pound space shuttle parade through the streets of Los Angeles. And we followed that quirky rover as she (yes, she) checked in to Mars on Foursquare and tweeted about her latest findings.