2020s in science and technology explained

This article is a summary of the 2020s in science and technology.

Biology and medicine

• DeepMind used artificial intelligence for the first time to predict protein folding.^[1]
• Singapore became the first jurisdiction to approve the sale of cultured meat.^[2]
• The vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna against Coronavirus disease 2019 became the first vaccines developed using messenger RNA^[3] and mark the fastest vaccine development and approval, taking only 10 months.^[4]
• Oregon became the first jurisdiction to legalize the medicinal use of psilocybin for mental health treatment.^[5]

Energy

• QuantumScape revealed that it had created the first functioning prototype of a solid-state battery, promising to massively increase battery capacity.^[6]
• The Chinese Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak was turned on for the first time.^[7] The China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor is being planned for commissioning later in the decade.
• Group14 Technologies has patented SCC55, a silicon-carbon composite, leading to 50% more in fully lithiated volumetric energy density than graphite used in conventional lithium-ion battery anodes.^{[8] [9]}

Environmental sciences

• The United Nations has designated the 2020s as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.^[10]

Space

See also: 2020s in spaceflight.

• NASA's Mars 2020 mission, which includes the Perseverance rover, was successfully launched on 30 July 2020 to study the habitability of Mars in preparation for future human missions.^[11]
• The Chang'e 5 successfully landed on the surface of the Moon in 2020.^[12]
• 16 September 2021, SpaceX launched Inspiration4. It was the first orbital launch of an all-private crew, including the first person with a prosthesis who was also the youngest person in space (aged 29).
• NASA's Artemis I mission to the Moon launched on 16 November 2022 to test the Space Launch System rocket.
• The James Webb Space Telescope was successfully launched on 25 December 2021. On 12 July 2022, the first full-color images captured were released to the public which included Webb's First Deep Field and others.^[13]
• India hopes to conduct its first human spaceflight, Gaganyaan in late 2024.^[14]
• The first component of the Lunar Gateway, a proposed inhabitable space station to be implemented by multiple international space agencies on the Moon, the Power and Propulsion Element, is set to be delivered by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy in November 2024.^[15]
• ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer was launched on 14 April 2023.^[16]
• On 7 October 2024, the Hera spacecraft was launched successfully. It will arrive at the asteroid Didymos in 2026 after Mars flyby, where it will study the effects of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test.
• On 13 October 2024, SpaceX achieves the first successful return and capture of a Super Heavy booster from Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly.^{[17] [18]}
• On 14 October 2024, NASA launched the Europa Clipper on 14 October 2024, which will study the Jovian moon Europa while in orbit around Jupiter.
• SpaceX founder and entrepreneur Elon Musk plans to send the first Starship to Mars in 2029, paving the way to the colonization of the planet.^[19]
• NASA plans to send "the first woman and the next man" to the Lunar south pole region via Artemis III in 2025.
• The European Space Agency plans to begin mining the Moon for natural resources by 2025.^[20]

Transport

Air

• In 2021, United Airlines revealed plans to purchase 15 supersonic Boom Overture aircraft by the end of the decade.^[21]

Land

• Waymo became the first company to offer self-driving car services to the general public without a human supervisor in Chandler, Arizona.^[22]
• Autonomous delivery vehicles began transporting food to customers in Texas in 2021.^[23]

Computing and artificial intelligence

See main article: Timeline of computing 2020–present.

• Artificial intelligence-assisted coding began to emerge in the early 2020s.^[24]
• El Salvador passed Bitcoin law to become the first country to give cryptocurrency and bitcoin the status of legal tender.

Physics

• In January 2020, Physicists discovered a unique metal with billions of quantum entangled electrons.^[25]
• The Large Hadron Collider will once again begin operation in early 2021;^{[26] [27] [28]} the collider was shut down in December 2018 "to enable major upgrade and renovation works."^[29]

See also

• History of science and technology
• List of science and technology articles by continent
• List of years in science
  • in science
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on science and technology
• History of technology by type
• List of science timelines

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2020-11-30. DeepMind AI cracks 50-year-old problem of protein folding. 2020-12-09. the Guardian. en.
2. Web site: 2020-12-02. No-kill, lab-grown meat to go on sale for first time. 2020-12-09. the Guardian. en.
3. Web site: 2020-11-21. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showing potential success of mRNA platform – a first. 2020-12-09. Boston Herald. en-US.
4. News: Pfizer COVID Shot Is Fastest Ever Vaccine to Be Approved in the West, First Licensed mRNA Jab in History. 2 December 2020.
5. Web site: Feuer. Will. 2020-11-04. Oregon becomes first state to legalize magic mushrooms as more states ease drug laws in 'psychedelic renaissance'. 2020-12-09. CNBC. en.
6. Did QuantumScape Just Solve a 40-Year-Old Battery Problem?. en-us. Wired. 2020-12-09. 1059-1028.
7. Web site: 2020-12-07. China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun' for first time. https://web.archive.org/web/20201207163844/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-nuclear-fusion-reactor-artificial-sun-chengdu-b1767393.html . 2020-12-07 . limited . live. 2020-12-09. The Independent. en.
8. Web site: Another Way Tesla Can Reduce Battery Costs. Root. Al. 2020-10-19.
9. Web site: SCC55.
10. Web site: 2017-02-09. United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). 2020-12-09. UNESCO. en.
11. Web site: Overview – 2020 Mission Plans . Mars.nasa.gov . NASA . 2015-11-12.
12. News: Myers. Steven Lee. Chang. Kenneth. 2020-12-01. China Lands Chang'e-5 Spacecraft on Moon to Gather Lunar Rocks and Soil. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-12-09. 0362-4331.
13. News: July 8, 2022 . July 8, 2022 . First Images of James Webb . Ars Technica . . https://web.archive.org/web/20220708195443/https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/07/nasa-names-first-five-targets-for-webb-images/ . July 8, 2022 .
14. Web site: Pillai . Soumya . 22 December 2022 . India's 1st human space flight to be launched in end of 2024 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230103122733/https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/indias-1st-human-space-flight-to-be-launched-in-end-of-2024-centre-101671649211273.html . 3 January 2023 . 11 January 2023 . www.hindustantimes.com.
15. NASA, Northrop Grumman Finalize Moon Outpost Living Quarters Contract . . 9 July 2021 . 9 July 2021.
16. ESA's Juice lifts off on quest to discover secrets of Jupiter's icy moons . . 2023-04-14. November 21, 2023.
17. Web site: Elon Musk's Starship booster captured in world first . BBC News. 13 October 2024. 13 October 2024.
18. Web site: SpaceX launches Starship test flight 5 . CNN. 13 October 2024. 13 October 2024.
19. Web site: Torchinsky . Rina . Elon Musk hints at crewed mission to Mars in 2029 . nrp.com . nrp . 24 January 2023.
20. Web site: The European Space Agency plans to start mining for natural resources on the moon. Lauren. Kent. January 22, 2019. CNN. January 23, 2019.
21. News: 2021-06-04. United plans supersonic passenger flights by 2029. en-GB. BBC News. 2021-07-11.
22. Web site: Lee. Timothy B.. 2020-10-08. Waymo finally launches an actual public, driverless taxi service. 2020-12-09. Ars Technica. en-us.
23. Web site: Wood. Charlie. 2021-07-10. The future of self-driving? Maybe less like Elon Musk and more like Domino's pizza robots. 2021-07-11. CNBC. en.
24. News: 2021-07-07. AI is transforming the coding of computer programs. The Economist. 2021-07-11. 0013-0613.
25. Web site: Billions of quantum entangled electrons found in 'strange metal'. ScienceDaily. en. 2020-01-19.
26. Web site: Hays . Brooks . CERN reveals plans for new experiment to search for dark matter particles . . 10 September 2019.
27. Web site: Tech2 News Staff . Cern's Large Hadron Collider Gets Major Upgrade, Experiments to Resume in 2021 . Tech2 . 3 September 2019 . 10 September 2019.
28. Web site: Wetzel . James . USCMS completes phase 1 upgrade program for CMS detector at CERN . Fermilab . 26 August 2019 . 10 September 2019.
29. Web site: CERN . LHC prepares for new achievements . 10 September 2019.