Trying to sum up 2020 is hard.
On one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the world, leaving millions dead in its wake. But this hasn't even glossed the surface. Without mentioning the economic impact COVID has left on the world, the medical repercussions are insane, and are still ongoing. Not only has COVID delayed treatment for millions of other patients, many with crucial conditions. It has left many people with as-of-yet undiscovered side effects.
On the other hand, 2020 has been a revolutionary year for space. It's comparable to the leaps during the Mercury and Gemini programs of the '50s and '60s. Not only have several government-funded spacecraft like Perseverance, OSIRIS-REX, Hayabusa2, and Chang'e 5 but private companies have also made extraordinary strides this year. Notable among which being SpaceX, who not only launched the first private capsule to dock with the ISS but also launched the first privately-owned crewed mission to the ISS. And ON TOP of all that, they did a static fire and 150m hop with SN5 and did a full 12.5km hop with SN8. So, it's been a pretty hectic year, and I haven't even mentioned some of the potential discoveries made by missions like Perseverance, OSIRS-REX and Hayabusa2.
Buuuuuuuut, the Arecibo Observatory in Peurto Rico also collapsed this year. So it's really been an emotional rollercoaster, not really a dive into the pits of hell. Now obviously this is not to say that we ended where we started, we are in a considerably worse place than we were at the start of 2020. But I remember a day when I was screaming my head off at SN8, and then I was in the dumps listening to the most recent news of the day (record COVID cases and deaths, economic downturn, etc.)
So let's hope for a better 2021, as good as fate will allow. Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year and Happy 2021!
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Written by: Alan Gao
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