At Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom a parade welcomes toy space ranger Buzz Lightyear home from space.

At Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Fla., a ticker-tape parade officially welcomes toy space ranger Buzz Lightyear home from space. NASA Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin, behind the banner, and International Space Station commander Mike Fincke are featured in the procession.

The 12-inch-tall action figure spent more than 15 months aboard the International Space Station and returned to Earth aboard space shuttle Discovery on Sept. 11 with the STS-128 crew. Lightyear's space adventure, a collaboration between NASA and Disney Parks, is intended to share the excitement of space exploration with students around the world and encourage them to pursue studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. For additional information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/buzzoniss. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis