-- SpaceX: The company's successful resupply mission to the International Space Station has created a new relationship between the U.S. space program and the private sector. Today private companies are in a position to replace NASA for routine missions. The question now is whether they someday supplant NASA.
-- Higgs Bosom: The discovery of this mysterious particle explaining most of the universe will keep scientists busy for years. Brian Cox, the English professor and particle physicist, stated in The Guardian:
The hubristic nature of daring to imagine it, of daring to say: "This is how I think the universe works", is truly brilliant. It's difficult for anyone to get their head around – it's only a century ago that Rutherford discovered the atomic nucleus. We didn't even know that atoms existed 150 years ago. This will speed up our understanding of the universe rapidly.
-- Voyager Exiting the Solar System: The two Voyager spacecraft are crossing the border between home and the unknown as they exited our solar system and began a new journey. They are still part of the protecting heliosphere of our system, but not for much longer. What is amazing beyond this feat is that we can still communicate with both spacecraft 35 years after their launch. According to NASA, the signal from Voyager 1 takes approximately 17 hours to travel to Earth. The durability of these craft and ingenuity of our space program is pretty amazing.
-- Curiosity on Mars: The successful landing of the Curiosity rover on Mars was a solid accomplishment for NASA and mankind. With its cluster of sophisticated instruments, we have a chance to learn much more about the Red Planet and its origins. With the success of Curiosity, NASA is planning a second rover. Nothing breeds optimism (and duplication) like success.
Update: Scientific American released its own list of Top 10 Science Stories of 2012. We certainly agree on many topics.