Last Friday (Sept 11, 2009), Buzz Lightyear returned to earth after spending 15 months in the International Space Station. Buzz 15 month mission was an important one, supporting NASA’s educational outreach program, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), by creating a fun and educational online outreach programs. Disney and NASA are partnering to create a new online educational game and an online mission patch competition for school kids across America. NASA will fly the winning patch in space.

Image Credit: NASA

Just because Buzz has returned to earth, does not mean his job is done. Buzz and the other Buzz, Buzz Aldrin, will be appearing together in a ticker-tape parade on October 2 at Walt Disney World in Florida. The parade is to celebrate Buzz Lightyears time in orbit. Also on October 2, 2009 , NASA plans to announce the details of a new exciting educational competition that will give students the opportunity to design an experiment for the astronauts on the space station.

“To infinity and beyond!”