Ranking the 25 coolest things in space so far during the 21st century
There is, of course, no quantitative way to rank amazing things that happen in space. We cannot measure their absolute magnitude nor assign them a numerical value, and trying to do so is something of a fool’s errand. Are we fools? Maybe. But we're fools who like to have a little fun.
Understandably, then, this list is completely subjective. How else could one rank events that span the cosmos, from gravitational wave detection to the launch of humans into suborbital space? What follows is a list of the most incredible, surprising, impressive, and demanding achievements and developments in space and spaceflight during the first 25 years of the 2000s—as selected by the editors of Ars Technica.
You will probably disagree with some choices and their ranking, and that’s totally fine. That’s what the comments section is for. But the point here is simply to bring some of these incredible moments back onto the front burner so we can all bask in their glory once again. Each of these achievements deserves our celebration and appreciation.
When I asked readers on social media for suggestions about the coolest things they’ve seen in spaceflight during the last 25 years, I received hundreds of suggestions. To the best of my knowledge, not a single person mentioned the Artemis I mission, in which an uncrewed Orion spacecraft flew around the Moon in late 2022.
