The year 2003 was an exciting one for new scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs progress in many scientific fields. Some of the highlights of 2003, which will be further discussed below, include: the anthropologic discovery of 350,000-year-old footprints attesting to the presence of upright-walking humans; SpaceShipOne flight 11P making its first supersonic flight; the observation of a previously unknown element, moscovium was made; and the world's first digital camera with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display is released by Kodak.
The year 2003 is also notable for the disintegration of the Columbia Space Shuttle upon its re-entry into Earth's atmosphere, a tragic disaster which took the lives of all seven astronauts on board; the Concorde jet made its last flight, bringing to an end the era of civilian supersonic travel, at least for the time being; and the death of Edward Teller, physicist and inventor of the hydrogen bomb.
Anthropology
March 13 – The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old upright-walking human footprints have been found in Italy.
Astronomy
Mars retrograde motion during perigee 2003
February 11 – NASA's WMAP satellite completes the first detailed cosmic microwave background radiation map of the universe. The image reveals the universe is 13.7 billion years old (within one percent error) and provides evidence that supports the inflationary theory.
April 1 – A banteng delivered in the United States is the second successful cloning of an endangered species and the first such clone to survive beyond infancy.
October – The last native wild crested ibis in Japan dies.
September 27 – The first European lunar mission Smart 1 launched.
October 15 – The People's Republic of China launches Shenzhou 5, their first human spaceflight mission.
December 25 – Mars Express enters orbit around Mars. Its lander, Beagle 2, lands on the surface but is unable to deploy its communications equipment and its fate is discovered only in 2015.[6]
