The European Space Agency (ESA) recently announced that the Mars Express spacecraft will observe the NASA Phoenix Lander while it completes the Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) portion of the mission.  The Mars Express should theoretically be able to watch the entire 13-minute EDL journey the Phoenix makes while landing on the Red Planet.

The Mars Express has been orbiting Mars for more than four years and the Phoenix is scheduled to launch on Saturday morning. However, weather delays may cause a second delay.

The Russian Progress M-59 space cargo ship recently undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) with a cargo of garbage - and eventually fell harmlessly into the ocean.  Astronauts aboard the ISS put all unwanted items in the cargo hatch of the ship, made sure there were no pressure leaks and then sent the spaceship on its final mission. 

As expected by space organizers, all heatproof parts of the ship crashed into a region of the Pacific Ocean nicknamed the "spaceship graveyard."

"The ship has undocked from the ISS in normal mode," a Mission Control spokesman said after it left the ISS.

Progress 26, a supply ship which will launch from Kazahkstan, has more than 5,000 pounds of food and supplies for the astronauts.

NASA plans to launch the shuttle Endeavour on time after engineers replace a leaky valve which was recently found in the shuttle's cabin.  Engineers figured out the source of the leak was one of two pressure-relief valves responsible for making sure the crew cabin has the ideal level of pressure.  NASA will borrow a properly working valve from shuttle Atlantis.

Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to launch from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday evening.