Astronomy and Space Exploration
- February 19 - NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
- May 26 - The Mars Odyssey finds signs of huge water ice deposits on the planet Mars.
- June 4 - Quaoar is discovered.
- June 10 - Annular solar eclipse.
- December 4 - Total solar eclipse.
Read more about this topic: 2002 In Science
Famous quotes containing the words astronomy, space and/or exploration:
“Awareness of the stars and their light pervades the Koran, which reflects the brightness of the heavenly bodies in many verses. The blossoming of mathematics and astronomy was a natural consequence of this awareness. Understanding the cosmos and the movements of the stars means understanding the marvels created by Allah. There would be no persecuted Galileo in Islam, because Islam, unlike Christianity, did not force people to believe in a “fixed” heaven.”
—Fatima Mernissi, Moroccan sociologist. Islam and Democracy, ch. 9, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. (Trans. 1992)
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“I call her old. She has one family
Whose claim is good to being settled here
Before the era of colonization,
And before that of exploration even.
John Smith remarked them as he coasted by....”
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