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Science & discoveries
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Discoveries, space exploration and medical breakthroughs. Discover the stories, illustrations and soundtracks behind the moments.

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A WORLD OF SMALL DISCOVERIES

Days that made a difference.

38 illustrated stories · growing daily
An astronaut with a manoeuvring backpack floats untethered above Earth's curved horizon beside a distant shuttle.Science & discoveries

Bruce McCandless makes the first untethered space flight, 7 February 1984

Bruce McCandless flew freely outside Challenger using a nitrogen-propelled backpack. The carefully tested manoeuvring unit let him leave the shuttle without a connecting tether while remaining in essentially the same orbit.

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A laboratory technician works beside a shallow glass culture dish, a glass incubator and a period microscope.Science & discoveries

Louise Brown’s birth and the first successful IVF treatment

Louise Brown was born on 25 July 1978 after conception through in vitro fertilisation. Her birth demonstrated that a human embryo formed outside the body could lead to a successful pregnancy.

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Two Somali health workers study a contact diagram beside a vaccine carrier in a modest coastal clinic.Science & discoveries

Somalia’s Last Natural Smallpox Case and the Verification of Eradication

WHO records the final naturally occurring smallpox case in Merka, Somalia, on 26 October 1977. The milestone became meaningful through continued surveillance, containment and the later international certification process.

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A Titan rocket rises beside its launch gantry above smoke, with water and marsh grass in the foreground.Science & discoveries

Voyager 1 launches toward Jupiter and Saturn

Voyager 1 launched on 5 September 1977, beginning a mission that used planetary gravity to visit the giant planets and carried a cultural message from Earth.

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A metallic lander footpad rests on granular, rock-strewn Martian ground beneath a dusty sky.Science & discoveries

Viking 1’s first photograph from the surface of Mars

On July 20, 1976, Viking 1 landed on Mars and sent back a close view of rocks, soil and one of its own footpads. The apparently modest scene established a new ground-level view of the planet and provided practical scientific evidence.

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Dusty hands examine a small fossil fragment above an eroded Ethiopian gully.Science & discoveries

Discovery of Lucy at Hadar in Ethiopia

Lucy’s fossil remains were discovered at Hadar, Ethiopia, on November 24, 1974. Her combination of upright-walking anatomy and a small brain helped clarify that key features of human evolution emerged at different times.

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Two farmers examine an ancient clay head beside a newly dug rural well.Science & discoveries

Farmers uncover the Terracotta Army near Xi’an in 1974

A well-digging project at Lintong on 29 March 1974 uncovered terracotta fragments. Archaeological work revealed an extraordinary funerary army and opened new ways to study the resources, workshops and organisation of China’s first imperial state.

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An imagined view of Apollo 11’s lunar module and an astronaut on the Moon’s dusty surface.Science & discoveries

Apollo 11 lands on the Moon: July 20, 1969

Apollo 11’s Eagle landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, carrying Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. The landing and the first moonwalk were separate milestones, occurring on different dates in universal time.

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A surgical team works around a draped patient beside period circulation equipment.Science & discoveries

The first human-to-human heart transplant in Cape Town

On 3 December 1967, a team led by Christiaan Barnard transplanted a human heart at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. The operation demonstrated a remarkable surgical possibility while exposing the continuing difficulty of keeping transplant recipients alive.

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Valentina Tereshkova sits in an orange pressure suit inside a compact spacecraft cabin, with Earth visible through a porthole.Science & discoveries

Valentina Tereshkova launches aboard Vostok 6

On 16 June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova launched from Baikonur aboard Vostok 6 and became the first woman in space. Her mission combined a major human milestone with the Cold War competition to demonstrate technological and social achievement.

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Illustration of Rachel Carson at a desk with research papers, looking toward a songbird outside her window.Science & discoveries

Publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring

Published on 27 September 1962, Silent Spring explained how the widespread use of persistent pesticides could damage connected living systems. Rachel Carson brought ecological evidence into a public debate about the costs of technological progress.

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A scientist studies a small ruby rod and coiled flashlamp on a laboratory bench.Science & discoveries

The first working ruby laser at Hughes Research Laboratories

On 16 May 1960, Theodore Maiman’s team operated a ruby laser, turning a theoretical approach to light amplification into a working device.

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