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NASA has been collecting data about the Earth, the solar system, and beyond for over half a century, but it's not always easy to see how all of this data is making our world a better place on the level of people like you and me. The Space Apps Challenge, sponsored by NASA and Innovation Endeavors (an investment firm headed by Google's Eric Schmidt), asked international teams to submit ideas for apps offering solutions to global problems.

There were four types of challenges that teams could work on, including software, open hardware, citizen science, and data visualization. Within these broad categories were specific goals: for example, creating an open-source 3D printing platform that works in space or redesigning the Voyager Golden Record for 2012.

Thousands of people and organizations ultimately participated in the challenge (which gave them just one single weekend to come up with a demo or pitch), and the results are in. Before you say "ugh, I don't care about apps," take a look at these short videos highlighting the winners, because we're pretty sure you'll want to care about these.

Imagine this food truck orbiting your office building at lunchtime, looking for a place to dock and to dispense rocket fuel. Our giggling could go on and on but let's bring this down to Earth: the owners of this fully functioning Space Shuttle food truck have put the vehicle on eBay and it can be yours for $150,000.

SpaceX is busy gearing up for a date with the International Space Station, but the company now has a second invite to one that doesn't exist yet. SpaceX has announced that it will help fellow private spaceflight firm Bigelow carry its inflatable modules into orbit, with the goal of connecting a bunch to form a proper station.

U.S. aerospace company Alliant Techsystems supported NASA's shuttle program by manufacturing the space agency's Solid Rocket Boosters (or SRBs), the pair of which provided most of the initial thrust to carry the spacecraft aloft. Now, the firm is looking to put that know-how toward building a manned launcher of its own.