From the cultivation of crops in space to autonomous robotaxi services on the road, the year experienced truly revolutionary advances in the field of science and technology.
As a new year approaches, here’s a look at some of the most interesting scientific discoveries and technological achievements of 2020-
The vaccine is here!
The vaccines produced by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna against Covid-19 became the first vaccines developed with RNA Messenger. It marks the fastest development and approval of the vaccine and only takes ten months.
The Pfizer vaccine shows 95% efficacy in preventing symptomatic covida infection. Although the Modern vaccine has a 94.1% efficacy in the prevention of symptomatic Covid-19.
“Superenzymes” plastic dining rooms
To address a different ecological crisis, scientists designed “superenzymes” that eat plastic and can break bottles in days.
Enzymes break down a common type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate, which is used in disposable bottles, as well as in clothing and carpets, in its chemical components.
Water on the moon
NASA announced that for the first time they have found water on the surface of the Moon. NASA confirmed the presence of the water molecule, H2O, in the sunlit areas of the Moon. This indicates that water is widely distributed over the lunar surface.
However, the Moon is so dry that, in comparison, the Sahara Desert has 100 times the amount of water that the SOFIA mission detected on the lunar soil.
Water molecules have been detected in the Clavius crater. The crater is located in the southern hemisphere of the Moon and is among the largest craters visible from Earth.
First crop harvested in space
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins harvested radish plants that were growing in advanced plant habitat (APH) aboard the International Space Station.
He meticulously collected and wrapped each of the 20 radish plants with aluminum foil, putting them in a cold storage for the trip back to Earth in 2021.
The plant experiment is the first time NASA has grown radishes in the APH orbiting laboratory.
Are there foreigners?
Scientists obtained, what they called, one of the first clues to detect an exoplanet in the realm of radio. The first possible radio signal is believed to emanate from a planet outside the solar system about 51 light-years away.
The researchers also observed other possible exoplanetary candidates for radio emissions in the constellation of the Cancer and Upsilon Andromedae systems.
Robotaxi without driver
Waymo became the first company to offer car driving services to the general public without a human supervisor in Chandler, Arizona. While autonomous vehicle supplier Zoox also unveiled a fully functional, electric and vehicle designed for dense, urban environments.
Eliminating the need for a human driver, robotaxi could make it a very affordable solution for customers.
Chang’e 5 carries moon samples
In December, the moon received a new visitor: the Chinese lander Chang’e-5, a robotic mission from the Chinese lunar exploration program. He returned to earth and carried 1,731 grams of samples collected from the moon. It was China’s first attempt to bring moon samples in more than 40 years after the U.S. sent astronauts to the moon to collect samples.
NASA’s mission in March 2020
Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission from NASA’s Mars exploration program that includes the perseverance rover and the wit helicopter drone. It will study living conditions on Mars in preparation for future human missions.
The oldest meteorite crater in the world found
A crater in western Australia was formed by a meteorite attack more than 2.2 billion years ago and is the oldest impact site in the world. The revelation also raises the intriguing possibility that the massive impact may have significantly altered the Earth’s climate, helping to end a period of global “deep freezing.”
Wind speed is measured in a brown dwarf
For the first time, scientists have directly measured wind speed on a brown dwarf, a type of sub-stellar object that is larger than Jupiter (the largest planet in our solar system), but not massive enough to convert. be in a star.
To achieve the finding, they used a new method that could also be applied to know the atmospheres of gas-dominated planets outside our solar system.
(with contributions from agencies)