Selected as Inventions That Changed the World Over 25 Years

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Curiosity rover have been inducted into TIME magazine's "Best Inventions Hall of Fame."

Based on its annual "Best Inventions" list published since 2000, TIME selected 25 inventions that have had the greatest impact on the world over the past quarter-century. The selection results were featured in TIME's December issue.

James Webb: A Revolution in Space Telescopes

Operating approximately 1.6 million kilometers from Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful space telescope ever built by humanity. Completed after decades of development, this telescope is revealing the universe's wonders to humanity by observing nascent stars, distant galaxies, and exoplanets orbiting other stars.

The innovative technologies developed to achieve Webb's scientific objectives are now impacting everyday life. From optical technologies to detectors and thermal control systems, these advances are being utilized to improve manufacturing processes in diverse fields including advanced cameras, contact lenses, cutting-edge semiconductors, and aircraft engine component inspection.

Curiosity: An Icon of Mars Exploration

The car-sized Mars rover Curiosity has been making remarkable discoveries while exploring the Martian surface for over a decade. This rover has completely transformed our understanding of our neighboring planet by finding evidence that Mars could have supported life in the past.

Curiosity's achievements extend beyond scientific discoveries. Its Radiation Assessment Detector has been studying Mars' radiation environment for nearly 14 years, accumulating crucial data for future human Mars exploration.

Notably, Curiosity's robotic sky crane landing system demonstrated the technology to safely land heavier spacecraft on the Martian surface. This is considered an essential capability for future missions sending cargo and humans to Mars.

NASA's Challenge to Expand Human Boundaries

Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, stated, "NASA is making the impossible real every day, and it starts with visionary science that takes humanity farther than ever before."

She added, "Congratulations to the teams who made the world-class engineering feats of the James Webb Space Telescope and Curiosity Mars rover a reality," noting that "through their work, distant galaxies feel closer, and the red sands of Mars become more familiar, expanding and redefining the boundaries of human achievement in space."

Selection Criteria and Significance

TIME compiled this Hall of Fame list by soliciting nominations from editors and correspondents worldwide. The magazine particularly focused on high-impact fields such as medicine and technology, evaluating each candidate based on key factors including originality, lasting impact, ambition, and influence.

The James Webb Space Telescope continues to serve as the world's premier space science observatory, solving mysteries of our solar system, observing distant worlds around other stars, and exploring the mysterious structure and origins of the universe. These two NASA projects are achieving milestones that will remain in the history of science and technology while rewriting humanity's understanding of space.