The 34 most awe-inspiring scientific achievements of 2020 include ancient mummy tombs, historic rocket launches, and the fastest vaccine in history

Morgan McFall-Johnsen,Aria Bendix,Aylin Woodward,Susie NeilsonDec 16, 2020, 02:39 IST

Scientists in a lab test COVID-19 samples at New York City's health department, April 23, 2020.Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Astronomers, archaeologists, geneticists, and many other scientists made mind-boggling breakthroughs in 2020.
Some highlights include work that uncovered stashes of mummies, launched the first-ever crewed commercial spaceflight, and produced COVID-19 vaccines in record time.
These are 34 of the biggest scientific accomplishments of the year.

Scientists and researchers around the world pulled off impressive feats in 2020. They unearthed huge caches of ancient bones and sarcophagi, discovered new types of black holes, and found water that could host alien life in new places across the solar system.

That was all in the midst of a pandemic, which spurred its own branch of fast-moving science. Over the past year, coronavirus researchers have sequenced the pathogen's genome, lifted the veil on the nature of infection and immunity, and developed vaccines that are now being administered across the US.

The pandemic hardly slowed NASA and its spaceflight partners, though. They still found time to launch a new Mars rover, a record-breaking probe to the sun, and the first-ever commercial astronaut mission.

These and other accomplishments are improving scientists' understanding of the coronavirus, our planet, and the surrounding cosmos.

As a new year approaches, here's a look back at some of the most mind-boggling scientific discoveries and achievements of 2020.

Some archaeological findings this year date back to the Mesozoic era. Paleontologists discovered that early dinosaurs laid leathery, soft-shelled eggs, like snakes and turtles do.

This exceptionally preserved Protoceratops specimen includes six embryos that preserve nearly complete skeletons. M. Ellison/©AMNH

Some archaeological findings this year date back to the Mesozoic era. Paleontologists discovered that early dinosaurs laid leathery, soft-shelled eggs, like snakes and turtles do.

Millions of years later, during the last Ice Age, early humans migrated from Asia to the Americas by crossing the sea in boats. They didn't walk across a land bridge, as previously thought.

Mikkel Winther Pedersen takes sediment samples from Chiquihuite Cave in Mexico, looking for early human DNA. Devlin A. Gandy

Millions of years later, during the last Ice Age, early humans migrated from Asia to the Americas by crossing the sea in boats. They didn't walk across a land bridge, as previously thought.

After humans reached the Americas, they may have hunted mammoths to extinction, as evidenced by the largest stash of mammoth bones ever discovered.

Ruben Manzanilla Lopez, of the National Anthropology Institute, shows mammoth bones discovered in a construction site at the Santa Lucia military base in Mexico, September 3, 2020. Marco Ugarte/AP

Another prehistoric creature, a cave bear, was discovered remarkably well-preserved in the Siberian permafrost.

A carcass of an Ice Age cave bear found on Great Lyakhovsky Island between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea in northern Russia. North-Eastern Federal University via AP

In England, archaeologists revealed that they'd determined the origin of some of the boulders that make up Stonehenge.

The sun sets behind Stonehenge just after the winter solstice. Gail Johnson/Getty Images

Egyptologists unearthed batch after batch of sarcophagi in an ancient city of the dead beneath Saqqara.

Newly discovered colored coffins from Saqqara on display October 3, 2020. They have been perfectly sealed for thousands of years. Ziad Ahmed/NurPhoto via Getty

While some pieces of history were found, others were lost. New evidence showed two key Antarctic glaciers, Pine Island and Thwaites, are rapidly collapsing.

Satellite imagery shows the extent of damage to the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers, and the tearing apart of their shear zones. Lhermitte et al/PNAS

To address a different ecological crisis, scientists engineered plastic-eating "super-enzymes" that can break down bottles in days.

Used plastic bottles at a waste collection point in Tokyo, Japan, November 21, 2018. Toru Hanai/Thomson Reuters

Reaching beyond Earth, SpaceX launched the world's first crewed commercial spaceflight, rocketing two NASA astronauts to orbit aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship.

Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley float into the International Space Station on May 31, 2020, after launching on SpaceX's Crew Dragon. NASA

SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk, did it again on November 15 - this time launching four astronauts on a fully certified human launch system.

The Resilience capsule approaches the International Space Station for docking, November 16, 2020. NASA

SpaceX also grew its Starlink satellite constellation and began testing the resulting internet service across the US.

Spectators watch as a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 60 Starlink satellites launches from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 6, 2020. Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images

NASA and the European Space Agency launched the Solar Orbiter in February, and it beamed back the closest images ever taken of the sun.

An image from the Solar Orbiter reveals the upper atmosphere of the sun, called the the corona. Solar Orbiter/EUI Team (ESA & NASA); CSL, IAS, MPS, PMOD/WRC, ROB, UCL/MSSL

Meanwhile, NASA's InSight lander on Mars detected hundreds of quakes. They revealed that the planet has a moon-like interior.

An artist's illustration shows NASA's InSight lander with its instruments deployed on the Martian surface. The seismometer is the round device to the left. NASA/JPL-Caltech

To learn more about Mars, NASA launched a new rover called Perseverance in July. It carries an oxygen synthesizer and the first interplanetary drone.

An illustration of NASA's Mars Perseverance rover using its drill to core a rock sample on Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech

China and the United Arab Emirates launched Mars missions, too, which seek to map the planet's climate and locate underground water.

An H-2A rocket carrying the United Arab Emirates's Hope Probe lifts off from Tanegashima Space Center on the island of Tanegashima, Japan, July 20, 2020. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries/Reuters

A NASA probe high-fived the surface of an asteroid, landing just long enough to collect a whopping 2-pound sample to bring back to Earth.

Japan, meanwhile, returned its own asteroid loot to Earth this year. It's the world's first sample of material from below the surface of a space rock.

A JAXA worker retrieves a capsule dropped by Hayabusa2 in Woomera, southern Australia, December 6, 2020. JAXA via AP

Researchers also investigated material from a meteor that fell to Australia on its own. Inside, they found ancient stardust - the oldest solid material ever discovered on Earth.

Places in the universe like the Egg Nebula (pictured) could be sources of stardust particles like the ones found in a meteorite named Murchison. Image courtesy of NASA, W. Sparks, R. Sahai, and Janaína N. Ávila.

Researchers also investigated material from a meteor that fell to Australia on its own. Inside, they found ancient stardust - the oldest solid material ever discovered on Earth.

Gravitational-wave detectors revealed a new class of collision in deep space, as well as the existence of a black hole that physicists thought could never exist.

A worker inspects quartz fibers that suspend a mirror inside the Virgo gravitational-wave observatory. EGO/Virgo Collaboration/Perciballi

Back on the ISS, astronauts forged a fifth state of matter.

The International Space Station. NASA

The search for alien life got a boost when scientists discovered hints of phosphine - a gas produced by anaerobic microbes on Earth - in the atmosphere of Venus.

An image of Venus and its thick clouds taken by NASA's Mariner 10 mission during a planetary flyby on February 7 and 8, 1974. Kevin M. Gill/NASA/JPL-Caletech

The search for alien intelligence, however, took a blow after astronomers traced a fast radio burst back to a dead star, not an alien civilization.

A super-dense neutron star, the remains of a supernova explosion, as captured by three NASA observatories. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/CXC/Univ. of Ariz./Univ. of Szeged

Other evidence gave the search for alien life new momentum, though. Scientists discovered salt water on two nearby worlds: Mars and a dwarf planet called Ceres.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft captured pictures in visible and infrared wavelengths, which were combined to create this false-color view of salty crust on Ceres. NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Even the moon revealed new reserves of water this year.

An artist's illustration depicts future Artemis astronauts on the moon. NASA via AP

In December, the moon got a new visitor: China's Chang'e-5 lander, which aims to bring moon rocks to Earth for the first time in over 40 years.

The Chang'e 5 lunar landing site captured by NASA on December 2, 2020. LROC/NASA

Back on Earth, the coronavirus pandemic ushered in a flood of new discoveries. Researchers sequenced the virus' genome just three days after learning about the mysterious illness.

An illustration of the coronavirus. Reuters

Back on Earth, the coronavirus pandemic ushered in a flood of new discoveries. Researchers sequenced the virus' genome just three days after learning about the mysterious illness.

The virus was probably spreading across the globe as early as December.

Health workers test residents for COVID-19 in Qingdao, China. STR/AFP via Getty Images

In February, Chinese researchers found evidence that people could transmit the virus while asymptomatic.

A man gets his temperature taken before boarding a plane at Paris-Orly Airport. Reuters

Scientists quickly learned that crowded indoor environments were ripe for superspreader events.

MyPillow founder Michael J. Lindell greets people before the start of a campaign rally for President Trump on June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Win McNamee/Getty Images

By April, scientists had widely acknowledged that face masks could save lives.

A Des Moines Area Quilters Guild member drops off face masks to public school students. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Scientists have also discovered that COVID-19 may be a vascular disease, which explains why some patients experience blood clots and stroke.

A patient receives a CT scan. SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images

Evolving research suggests that people with COVID-19 may have immunity that lasts anywhere from several months to several years.

A face mask lies on the roadside in autumn foliage. Sebastian Gollnow/Getty Images

Coronavirus vaccines got designed at lightning speed.

An illustration of the Moderna vaccine. Moderna; Samantha Lee/Business Insider

Some new treatments have also shown promise among mild, moderate, and severe cases.

A lab technician works on the coronavirus treatment remdesivir in Cairo, Egypt. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

13 discoveries in the last year have fundamentally altered our understanding of human history

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The 34 most awe-inspiring scientific achievements of 2020 include ancient mummy tombs, historic rocket launches, and the fastest vaccine in history

Some archaeological findings this year date back to the Mesozoic era. Paleontologists discovered that early dinosaurs laid leathery, soft-shelled eggs, like snakes and turtles do.

Millions of years later, during the last Ice Age, early humans migrated from Asia to the Americas by crossing the sea in boats. They didn't walk across a land bridge, as previously thought.

After humans reached the Americas, they may have hunted mammoths to extinction, as evidenced by the largest stash of mammoth bones ever discovered.

Another prehistoric creature, a cave bear, was discovered remarkably well-preserved in the Siberian permafrost.

In England, archaeologists revealed that they'd determined the origin of some of the boulders that make up Stonehenge.

Egyptologists unearthed batch after batch of sarcophagi in an ancient city of the dead beneath Saqqara.

While some pieces of history were found, others were lost. New evidence showed two key Antarctic glaciers, Pine Island and Thwaites, are rapidly collapsing.

To address a different ecological crisis, scientists engineered plastic-eating "super-enzymes" that can break down bottles in days.

Reaching beyond Earth, SpaceX launched the world's first crewed commercial spaceflight, rocketing two NASA astronauts to orbit aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship.

SpaceX, which was founded by Elon Musk, did it again on November 15 - this time launching four astronauts on a fully certified human launch system.

SpaceX also grew its Starlink satellite constellation and began testing the resulting internet service across the US.

NASA and the European Space Agency launched the Solar Orbiter in February, and it beamed back the closest images ever taken of the sun.

Meanwhile, NASA's InSight lander on Mars detected hundreds of quakes. They revealed that the planet has a moon-like interior.

To learn more about Mars, NASA launched a new rover called Perseverance in July. It carries an oxygen synthesizer and the first interplanetary drone.

China and the United Arab Emirates launched Mars missions, too, which seek to map the planet's climate and locate underground water.

A NASA probe high-fived the surface of an asteroid, landing just long enough to collect a whopping 2-pound sample to bring back to Earth.

Japan, meanwhile, returned its own asteroid loot to Earth this year. It's the world's first sample of material from below the surface of a space rock.

Researchers also investigated material from a meteor that fell to Australia on its own. Inside, they found ancient stardust - the oldest solid material ever discovered on Earth.

Gravitational-wave detectors revealed a new class of collision in deep space, as well as the existence of a black hole that physicists thought could never exist.

Back on the ISS, astronauts forged a fifth state of matter.

The search for alien life got a boost when scientists discovered hints of phosphine - a gas produced by anaerobic microbes on Earth - in the atmosphere of Venus.

The search for alien intelligence, however, took a blow after astronomers traced a fast radio burst back to a dead star, not an alien civilization.

Other evidence gave the search for alien life new momentum, though. Scientists discovered salt water on two nearby worlds: Mars and a dwarf planet called Ceres.

Even the moon revealed new reserves of water this year.

In December, the moon got a new visitor: China's Chang'e-5 lander, which aims to bring moon rocks to Earth for the first time in over 40 years.

Back on Earth, the coronavirus pandemic ushered in a flood of new discoveries. Researchers sequenced the virus' genome just three days after learning about the mysterious illness.

The virus was probably spreading across the globe as early as December.

In February, Chinese researchers found evidence that people could transmit the virus while asymptomatic.

Scientists quickly learned that crowded indoor environments were ripe for superspreader events.

By April, scientists had widely acknowledged that face masks could save lives.

Scientists have also discovered that COVID-19 may be a vascular disease, which explains why some patients experience blood clots and stroke.

Evolving research suggests that people with COVID-19 may have immunity that lasts anywhere from several months to several years.

Coronavirus vaccines got designed at lightning speed.

Some new treatments have also shown promise among mild, moderate, and severe cases.