From crop farming in space to self-driving robotaxi services on the road, the year saw some revolutionary advances in science and technology.
As the new year approaches, here are some interesting scientific discoveries and a look at the technological achievements of 2020-.
The vaccine is here!
Vaccine Messenger RNA produced by Pfizer / Bioentech and Moderna against Covid-19. Became the first vaccine developed with the help of. It marks rapid vaccine development and approval in just 10 months.
The Pfizer vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective in preventing symptomatic covid infections. While the Moderna vaccine is 94.1% effective in preventing the symptomatic Covid-19.
Eating plastic ‘super-enzymes’
To meet a different ecological crisis, scientists engineered plastic eating “super enzymes” that could break bottles in days.
The enzymes break down a common type of plastic called polyethylene terephthalate used in its common chemical building blocks, one-of-a-kind bottles as well as clothing and carpets.
Water on the moon
NASA announced that they have found water on the lunar surface for the first time. NASA confirmed the bias of water molecule, H2O, in areas with lunar sunlight. This indicates that water is widely distributed on the lunar surface.
However, the moon is so dry that by comparison, the Sahara desert has 100 times more water than what was found in the lunar land by the Sophia mission.
Water molecules have been found in the Clavius crater. The crater is located in the southern hemisphere of the moon and is one of the largest craters visible from Earth.
The first crop harvested in space
NASA astronaut Kate Rubin harvested radishes grown in the Advanced Plant Habitat (APH) above the International Space Station.
He collected 20 root plants in cold storage and wrapped them in foil to return to Earth in 2021.
This is the first time NASA has grown radishes at APH’s rotation laboratory.
Do aliens exist?
This is one of the first signs that scientists have discovered an exoplanet in the field of radio. The first possible radio signal is thought to be emanating from a planet outside the Solar System about 51 light-years away.
Researchers have also observed star cancer and other potential exoplanetary radio-emission candidates in the Upsilon Andromeda system.
Driverless robotaxis
Wimo became the first company in Chandler, Arizona to provide self-driving car services to the general public without a human supervisor. While autonomous vehicle provider Zux also announced a fully functional, electric, autonomous vehicle designed for the ga ense, urban environment.
The fact that it eliminates the need for human shuffler, robotaxi can make it a very affordable solution for customers.
Chang brings samples from 5 moons
In December, the moon received a new visitor: China’s Chang’-5 Lander – a robotic mission of the Chinese lunar research program. He returned to Earth and brought 1,731 grams of samples collected from the moon. U.S. This was China’s first attempt to bring lunar samples in 40 years after sending astronauts to the moon to collect samples by.
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission
Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission through NASA’s Mars Research Program, which includes continuous rovers and ingenious helicopter drones. It will study the habitable conditions on Mars in preparation for future human missions.
The world’s oldest meteorite was found
A crater in Western Australia was created by a meteor strike more than 2.5 billion years ago and is the world’s oldest known impact site. This revelation also makes it an interesting possibility that the huge impact could significantly change the Earth’s atmosphere, helping to end the period of global “deep deep stability”.
Wind speed is measured on a brown dwarf
For the first time, scientists have measured wind speeds directly on a brown dwarf, a type of substratum that is larger than Jupiter (the largest planet in our solar system) but not large enough to become a star.
To achieve the discovery, they used a new method that could also be used to learn about the atmosphere of gas-affected planets outside our solar system.
(With inputs from agencies)
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