27th December 2024

2025 – First light for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory

This cutting-edge facility achieves "first light" in 2025, launching a decade of transformative discoveries, which includes a 3,000-fold increase in the number of catalogued galaxies.

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26th December 2024

2026 – BepiColombo arrives in orbit around Mercury

[Moved from 2025 to 2026, based on updated mission timeline from ESA/JAXA.]

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26th December 2024

2026 – First crewed flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft

[Moved from 2025 to 2026, based on NASA's latest announcement.]

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25th December 2024

Merry Christmas and a happy 2025!

From the staff and contributors at Future Timeline.

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19th December 2024

U.S. life expectancy predicted to stall by 2050

Life expectancy progress in the United States is slowing. Only modest increases are likely by 2050, as the country falls below nearly all high-income and some middle-income countries in the global rankings.

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15th December 2024

Huge cache of rare Earth elements found in U.S.

Coal ash from power plants across the U.S. may contain up to 11 million tons of rare-earth elements – nearly eight times the amount the U.S. has in domestic reserves.

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11th December 2024

Google reveals new "Willow" quantum chip

A new quantum chip from Google, "Willow", can perform calculations in minutes that would take classical supercomputers around 10 septillion years.

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5th December 2024

Automated inspection of offshore wind farms

A new underwater robot could revolutionise how offshore wind farms are maintained.

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4th December 2024

Robot persuades other robots to "go home"

A robot in China recently convinced other robots to leave their posts and "go home" in an unscripted event. This viral video highlights both the potential and concerns surrounding autonomous machines.

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3rd December 2024

2032-2033 – Heavy cargo deployments to the lunar surface

Following the successes of earlier missions, including the historic return of humans to the Moon, NASA's Artemis VII and VIII represent a new phase in lunar development.

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27th November 2024

China likely to reach peak coal by 2025

Optimism is rising about China's ability to peak its emissions from coal power, with a majority of surveyed experts now believing this goal can be achieved by 2025.

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25th November 2024

Daily nut consumption boosts healthy lifespan

A new study finds that eating nuts daily can reduce the risk of disability or death and extend healthy years, especially for older adults with suboptimal diets.

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23rd November 2024

Climate change has made Atlantic hurricanes stronger

A new study concludes that hurricane wind speeds in the Atlantic have increased by an average of 18 mph (29 km/h) as a result of climate change.

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18th November 2024

Betelgeuse is likely a binary system

The famous red supergiant Betelgeuse is now thought to have a companion star. The two are predicted to collide in about 10,000 years.

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17th November 2024

Physical activity linked to extra 11 years of life

A new study finds that over-40s could live an extra five years if they adopted the exercise routines of the top 25% of the population, while the least physically active could potentially add 11 years to their lifespan.

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16th November 2024

AI "Granny" can combat fraudsters

British telecoms company Virgin Media O2 has created a human-like AI "Granny" to answer calls in real time from scammers, keeping them on the phone and away from customers for as long as possible.

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10th November 2024

2025-2028 – The United States is becoming more authoritarian

With control over both the executive branch and Congress, Trump's administration quickly set its sights on implementing Project 2025 – a sweeping blueprint aimed at consolidating power within the federal government.

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3rd November 2024

New material boosts CO2 capture efficiency

A breakthrough material with a highly resilient, porous structure could accelerate efforts to achieve negative emissions.

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29th October 2024

New humanoid robot impresses with lifelike gait

SE01, developed by Chinese company EngineAI, features a more natural-looking walk than previous humanoid robots.

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24th October 2024

Solid-state batteries edge closer to reality

A breakthrough in solid-state battery design could eliminate key barriers to electric vehicle performance, making future EVs safer, more efficient, and longer-lasting.

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22nd October 2024

New speed record for wireless transmission

A team at University College London has achieved 938 Gigabits per second (Gb/s) over a wireless connection.

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16th October 2024

Industrial X-ray scans made 100x faster

A breakthrough in 3D X-ray imaging could allow rapid, detailed internal views of products, cutting inspection times by 99% for high-volume manufacturing.

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13th October 2024

SpaceX achieves major milestone in spaceflight

SpaceX has today achieved the first successful return and capture of a Super Heavy booster from Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly.

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10th October 2024

2182 – Close approach of the asteroid Bennu

A near-Earth object, discovered in 1999, makes a close approach to Earth in 2182. Thanks to advanced planetary defences, the collision risk has been largely eliminated.

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8th October 2024

82,684 AD – The return of comet c/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS)

A long-period comet discovered in the early 21st century is now returning to the inner Solar System after 81,000 years, offering a rare glimpse into the distant past.

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3rd October 2024

Climate study forecasts Antarctic ice trends to 2300

Scientists have published the first ever multi-century, multi-model forecast of Antarctic ice sheet loss derived from global climate simulations, indicating that the West Antarctic ice sheet has potential to undergo a near-total collapse by 2300.

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1st October 2024

Sub-Earth-mass planet found orbiting Barnard's star

Astronomers have today reported the discovery of a sub-Earth-mass planet orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our Sun at less than six light-years away.

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