The November 10 issue of Time featured an article titled, “The 50 best inventions of the year.” Among the top 50 are four astronomy-related inventions — three even made the top 10.
At 18 is the Mars Science Laboratory (pictured at right). Set to launch in the fall of 2009, the robotic explorer will possibly determine if Mars was ever able to support microbial life.
Number nine, the Orbital Internet, is new to me. Scientists are working on a connection that can be maintained in orbit. The connection will have to be able to withstand many delays and disruptions that will be present during launch and orbit.
Number five is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Switzerland. Even though there have been some bumps in the road for the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, it is expected to be up and running by next spring. Check out more about the LHC.
Sitting at number three is NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Scheduled to launch in April 2009, LRO will search for water and create topographic maps of the lunar surface. This will be the United States’ first spacecraft to travel to the Moon in 11 years.
The rest of the inventions are pretty interesting gadgets, including bullets that shoot bullets, the retail DNA test, and bionic contacts.
What would you put on your list of the top inventions of 2008?