Two icons of discovery, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and NASA's Curiosity rover, have earned spots in TIME magazine.Hall of Fame for the Best Inventions“, which recognizes the 25 groundbreaking inventions of the last quarter century that have had the greatest global impact since TIME began compiling its annual list of the best inventions in 2000. These inventions are featured in the December print issue of TIME.
“NASA does the impossible every day, and it all starts with visionary science that takes humanity further than ever before,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Congratulations to the teams who made the world's greatest engineering achievements – the James Webb Space Telescope and the Curiosity rover – a reality. Their work makes distant galaxies seem closer and the red sands of Mars more familiar as they expand and redefine the boundaries of human achievement in space for the benefit of all.”
Built and operating for decades millions of miles from Earth, Webb is the most powerful space telescope ever built, providing humanity with breathtaking views of newborn stars, distant galaxies and even planets orbiting other stars. New technologies developed to advance Webb's scientific goals—from optics to detectors to thermal management systems—now also touch the everyday lives of Americans, improving the production of everything from high-quality cameras and contact lenses to advanced semiconductors and the inspection of aircraft engine components.
Meanwhile, on Mars, the unstoppable Curiosity rover, NASA's car-sized science lab, has spent more than a decade uncovering clues that the Red Planet might once have supported life, changing our understanding of our planetary neighbor. These NASA missions continue to make breakthroughs that have changed our understanding of the universe and our place in it. Curiosity also paved the way for future astronauts: Its radiation assessment detector studied the radiation environment of Mars for nearly 14 years, and its memorable landing on a robotic jetpack allowed a heavier spacecraft to land on the surface, a capability that would be needed to send cargo and people to Mars.
To compile this Hall of Fame list, TIME solicited nominations from TIME editors and correspondents around the world, with a particular focus on high-impact areas such as health care and technology. TIME then rated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, continued effectiveness, ambition and influence.
James Webb Space Telescope is the world's leading space science observatory. Webb unravels the mysteries of our solar system, peers into distant worlds around other stars, and explores the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA and its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
Curiosity The rover was built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is operated by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. JPL is leading the mission on behalf of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program.
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