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This got us thinking: What happens when smaller (and bigger) objects fly into our atmosphere? We used Purdue University's "Impact: Earth!" simulator to find our answers. Our own Bob Al-Greene illustrated the results, as seen in the gallery above.

Some highlights: Rocks the size of basketballs enter our planet about once a month; most burn apart in the atmosphere before they reach the surface. Objects as long as standard school buses (roughly 12 meters around) only sneak into the Earth every 20 years or so - but, as seen in Chelyabinsk, the damage can be much greater.

All results assume the object is traveling at a 45-degree angle, with a density level of 3000 kg/m^3 and a velocity of 11 km/s. Everything is assumed to be seen from 100 kilometers away from the direct impact zone.

Click "Show As List" on the bottom-left of the gallery to view larger images. And check out our Google Hangout with asteroid experts to learn more about what's being done to fend off space rocks, from basketball-sized to London-sized.

A 2013 meteor explosion above Chelyabinsk, Russia injured more than 1,700 people. It was completely unexpected -- and it could happen again. Here's what NASA's doing to make sure we know how to act when (not if) the next one hits.

For the first time in the history of humankind, economical participation in space exploration is a reality. With Mars One's recent launch of a crowdfunding campaign, it's now possible to send a personal item to distances far beyond your wildest dreams. For many, the Mars One mission is the gateway to a new era in man's historic reach for the stars.

For about 50 years, government organizations have been funding and managing space exploration across the globe. Government run exploration, funded by public monies, has provided limited access to most citizens of those countries. In the last few years, private organizations such as Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Eric Anderson's Space Adventures have made space exploration possible for the mega-rich. A flight with Virgin Galactic 68 miles above Earth goes for a cool $250,000 while the potential 2017 flight to the moon from Space Adventures is rumored to cost an astronomical $150 million. There are others in between, but none as accessible as Mars One. Bas Lansdorp, co-founder of Mars One, has set his sights on involving the everyday man and woman in space exploration

Mars One will establish a permanent human settlement on Mars. Crews of four will depart every two years, starting in 2024. Our first unmanned mission will be launched in 2018. Participate in this mission to Mars through our crowdfunding campaign.

Mars One will establish a human settlement on Mars. You can participate in the first major step: a private Mars Lander and Satellite mission in 2018.

A father of four, who applied for a one-way-ticket to live on Mars, could be looking at a divorce as a result of his extraterrestrial ambition.

Ken Sullivan made it the next stage of the Mars One project, which could potentially see him making a new life on Mars - but his wife and children are not happy about the news.

Mr Sullivan, who lives in Utah, is among the 1,058 applicants selected so far who could colonise the red planet and never return to their families and friends on Earth.

National Geographic Channel is taking viewers around the world-literally-in this spectacular two-hour television event broadcasting LIVE from the International Space Station (ISS) and Mission Control in Houston, Texas. Made in collaboration with NASA, we'll go into orbit with astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Koichi Wakata as they fly at 17,500 mph nearly 250 miles above the earth's surface on the International Space Station, while astronaut Mike Massimino joins host Soledad O'Brien on the ground at Mission Control in Houston. From space, Mastracchio and Wakata will give viewers a fully guided tour, showing us how they live for months in microgravity. They'll conduct never-before-broadcast experiments that demonstrate the real-world value of the science conducted on the floating laboratory. Plus get ready for stunning shots of Earth, from sunset and sunrise, to city lights and green aurora, to lightning storms and shooting stars. You've never seen our planet like this before.

The atoms around you have existed for billions of years -- and most originated in the flaming, gaseous core of a star. Dennis Wildfogel tells the captivating tale of these atoms' long journeys from the Big Bang to the molecules they form today.

Have you ever looked up at the stars and felt small? Have you ever looked at the Moon and thought, "Wow! It looks huge!"? This video gives us perspective on those questions.

NASA's website on the Hubble IMAX video. Includes webisodes and teaching materials.

An interesting infographic that details some of the costs associated with space travel.

What does it mean for a galaxy to be the most distant galaxy disovered? The numbers are staggering. Here's what you need to know.

As you probably know, astronomers use the distance that light travels in a year as a standard measuring stick for calculating the largest distances in the Universe. The nearest star to Earth, Proxima Centauri, measures 4.22 light-years from Earth. The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is 26,000 light-years away. The nearest large galaxy, Andromeda, is 2.5 million light-years away.

This is a difficult number to know for certain, since we can only see a fraction of the Universe, even with our most powerful instruments. The most current estimates guess that there are 100 to 200 billion galaxies in the Universe, each of which has hundreds of billions of stars. A recent German supercomputer simulation put that number even higher: 500 billion. In other words, there could be a galaxy out there for every star in the Milky Way.

The future of manned spaceflight is coming into focus. Whether it's through NASA's Orion program, its partnerships with private companies or in the form of the quick, space-immersion experiences that Virgin Galatic's SpaceshipTwo spaceships are soon to offer.

Billionaire Richard Branson recently placed a full-scale replica of his spaceship on the deck of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum in New York City. You can see it for yourself in the gallery above and Vine video below.

However, a little known fact about this flight is what took place before it. Shepard sat in the rocket for five hours because of delays, and the astronaut really had to use the restroom.

"In science fact, though, there's greater concern that Earth-dwellers-specifically bacteria and microorganisms-could arrive at extraterrestrial destinations. As NASA sends rovers to Mars, plans a trip to Jupiter's icy moon Europa, and looks for an ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus, the hope is to find life-forms on those interstellar bodies. To ensure that doesn't include forms that originated on Earth-and that the new environment isn't compromised the way Earth ecosystems can be by invasive species or infectious diseases-NASA is now thoroughly cleaning its space-bound vessels."

Later this year, Europe's Rosetta probe will orbit and land on comet 67P/Churyumov--Gerasimenko. New images of the comet show that it will be a lively place when Rosetta arrives.