The year in review: The science of change<br />
<br />
2006 brought tragedy and disappointment, but also triumph and discovery.<br />
Let's just say it: 2006 has, in many ways, been an odd and ironic year in science.<br />
<br />
The first spacecraft ever sent to Pluto was launched in January. Eight months later, the mission lost a bit of its luster when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union ?a decision that's still causing arguments.<br />
In August, a quiet Russian topologist declined to accept the Fields Medal, the highest honor in mathematics. Grigori Perelman said he didn't want or deserve the publicity, which only made him more famous in math circles.<br />
Construction resumed on the International Space Station in September, earning the United States and Russia wide praise for high-flying engineering. But the vibe changed in November when cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin took time during a spacewalk to hit a golf ball. It was a publicity stunt done to raise money for Russia's cash-strapped space program.<br />
But that's only part of the story of 2006.<br />
It's also been a year of subtle beauty. Tiny Mercury passed in front of the sun, as seen from Earth ?an event that won't happen again until 2016. There was sadness; legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield died in a plane crash. And there were many dazzling breakthroughs. Only last week, scientists announced that a tiny satellite had found strong evidence that liquid water has flowed on the surface of Mars in recent years.<br />
It's a clich? but it is true: Where there is water, there is the potential for life.<br />
We can't cover all of the notable news on this page. But here's a sample of events that made headlines.<br />
Jan. 15:A canister holding dust from comet Wild 2 parachutes into the Utah desert, the main goal of the Stardust mission. The container was recovered by Cliff Fleming, a helicopter stunt pilot from Newport Beach. Scientists are studying the dust for clues about how our solar system evolved.<br />
Jan. 19: New Horizons, "the first mission to the last planet," began well when the spacecraft launched from Florida and headed to Pluto and its moon, Charon. It won't arrive until July 2015.<br />
Feb. 23: Queen Mary II ?a marvel of engineering at 1,132 feet in length ?visits its namesake, the Queen Mary, in Long Beach Harbor.<br />
April 19: California native Scott Crossfield, the first man to fly twice the speed of sound, dies in a plane crash in Georgia. Crossfield, who was piloting the plane, was 84.<br />
June 30: UC Irvine finishes the fiscal year with a record $311 million in research funding. The largest grant goes to biologist Tony James, who receives almost $20 million from the federal government to find ways to curb the spread of dengue fever.<br />
July 6: Well-known Newport Beach bond trader Bill Gross and his wife, Sue, donate $10 million to UCI's stem cell research program.<br />
July 21: Boeing announces that it will close its historic defense and aerospace plant in Anaheim and move the site's 3,700 employees to its Huntington Beach campus.<br />
Aug. 9: Physicist James Van Allen ?the namesake of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts, dies at age 91.<br />
Aug. 24: The International Astronomical Union reclassifies Pluto from planet to dwarf planet during a contentious meeting in Prague. Hundreds of scientists, including UCI's Wayne Hayes and Cal State Fullerton alumni Linda Spilker, a researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sign a petition protesting the decision.<br />
Aug. 31:NASA chooses Lockheed Martin to design and build Orion, the spacecraft that will replace the space shuttle and eventually transport astronauts to the moon. Its heat shield is being developed at Boeing-Huntington Beach.<br />
Sept. 9: The space shuttle Atlantis successfully launches from Florida and heads to the International Space Station, where its crew helps expand the outpost. The expansion includes a piece of framework from Boeing-Huntington Beach.<br />
Sept. 18: Michael Lopez-Alegria, who grew up in Mission Viejo, heads to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket. He reach-es his destination on Sept. 20 and is currently serving as station commander.<br />
Sept. 29: UCI undergraduates launch Zot 1, the first rocket successfully built and test-fired by the university. The 12-foot-long booster travels 9,865 feet high from its launch site at Dry Lake Lucerne.<br />
Oct. 31: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena celebrates its 70th anniversary.<br />
Nov. 3: The Griffith Observatory ?the nation's most popular public observatory ?reopens in the Hollywood Hills after a $93 million renovation and expansion that took almost five years.<br />
Nov. 8: Mercury passes in front of the sun, as seen from the Earth, treating observers to a rare "transit of Mercury."<br />
Dec. 4: NASA says it will build a small, permanent base on the moon starting sometime after 2020.<br />
Dec. 6: NASA announces that it has found strong evidence that water has flowed on the surface of Mars within the past seven years.
<br />
2006 brought tragedy and disappointment, but also triumph and discovery.<br />
Let's just say it: 2006 has, in many ways, been an odd and ironic year in science.<br />
<br />
The first spacecraft ever sent to Pluto was launched in January. Eight months later, the mission lost a bit of its luster when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union ?a decision that's still causing arguments.<br />
In August, a quiet Russian topologist declined to accept the Fields Medal, the highest honor in mathematics. Grigori Perelman said he didn't want or deserve the publicity, which only made him more famous in math circles.<br />
Construction resumed on the International Space Station in September, earning the United States and Russia wide praise for high-flying engineering. But the vibe changed in November when cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin took time during a spacewalk to hit a golf ball. It was a publicity stunt done to raise money for Russia's cash-strapped space program.<br />
But that's only part of the story of 2006.<br />
It's also been a year of subtle beauty. Tiny Mercury passed in front of the sun, as seen from Earth ?an event that won't happen again until 2016. There was sadness; legendary test pilot Scott Crossfield died in a plane crash. And there were many dazzling breakthroughs. Only last week, scientists announced that a tiny satellite had found strong evidence that liquid water has flowed on the surface of Mars in recent years.<br />
It's a clich? but it is true: Where there is water, there is the potential for life.<br />
We can't cover all of the notable news on this page. But here's a sample of events that made headlines.<br />
Jan. 15:A canister holding dust from comet Wild 2 parachutes into the Utah desert, the main goal of the Stardust mission. The container was recovered by Cliff Fleming, a helicopter stunt pilot from Newport Beach. Scientists are studying the dust for clues about how our solar system evolved.<br />
Jan. 19: New Horizons, "the first mission to the last planet," began well when the spacecraft launched from Florida and headed to Pluto and its moon, Charon. It won't arrive until July 2015.<br />
Feb. 23: Queen Mary II ?a marvel of engineering at 1,132 feet in length ?visits its namesake, the Queen Mary, in Long Beach Harbor.<br />
April 19: California native Scott Crossfield, the first man to fly twice the speed of sound, dies in a plane crash in Georgia. Crossfield, who was piloting the plane, was 84.<br />
June 30: UC Irvine finishes the fiscal year with a record $311 million in research funding. The largest grant goes to biologist Tony James, who receives almost $20 million from the federal government to find ways to curb the spread of dengue fever.<br />
July 6: Well-known Newport Beach bond trader Bill Gross and his wife, Sue, donate $10 million to UCI's stem cell research program.<br />
July 21: Boeing announces that it will close its historic defense and aerospace plant in Anaheim and move the site's 3,700 employees to its Huntington Beach campus.<br />
Aug. 9: Physicist James Van Allen ?the namesake of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts, dies at age 91.<br />
Aug. 24: The International Astronomical Union reclassifies Pluto from planet to dwarf planet during a contentious meeting in Prague. Hundreds of scientists, including UCI's Wayne Hayes and Cal State Fullerton alumni Linda Spilker, a researcher at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, sign a petition protesting the decision.<br />
Aug. 31:NASA chooses Lockheed Martin to design and build Orion, the spacecraft that will replace the space shuttle and eventually transport astronauts to the moon. Its heat shield is being developed at Boeing-Huntington Beach.<br />
Sept. 9: The space shuttle Atlantis successfully launches from Florida and heads to the International Space Station, where its crew helps expand the outpost. The expansion includes a piece of framework from Boeing-Huntington Beach.<br />
Sept. 18: Michael Lopez-Alegria, who grew up in Mission Viejo, heads to the International Space Station aboard a Russian rocket. He reach-es his destination on Sept. 20 and is currently serving as station commander.<br />
Sept. 29: UCI undergraduates launch Zot 1, the first rocket successfully built and test-fired by the university. The 12-foot-long booster travels 9,865 feet high from its launch site at Dry Lake Lucerne.<br />
Oct. 31: The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena celebrates its 70th anniversary.<br />
Nov. 3: The Griffith Observatory ?the nation's most popular public observatory ?reopens in the Hollywood Hills after a $93 million renovation and expansion that took almost five years.<br />
Nov. 8: Mercury passes in front of the sun, as seen from the Earth, treating observers to a rare "transit of Mercury."<br />
Dec. 4: NASA says it will build a small, permanent base on the moon starting sometime after 2020.<br />
Dec. 6: NASA announces that it has found strong evidence that water has flowed on the surface of Mars within the past seven years.