2001 Cassini space probe (launched 1997) begins exploration of Saturn's moons and rings. Galileo probe (launched 1989) continues surveying Jupiter and its moons. Life beneath the ice-covered oceans of one moon, Europa, appears likely.
2002 The first commercial device producing clean, safe power by low-temperate nuclear reactions goes on the market, heralding the end of the Fossil Fuel Age.
2003 The motor industry is given five years to replace all fuel-burning engines with the new energy device. The same year, NASA's robot Mars Surveyor is launched.
2004 First (publicly admitted) human clone.
2005 First sample sent back to Earth by Mars Surveyor.
2006 Last coal mine closed.
2008 A city in a developing country is devastated by the accidental detonation of an atomic bomb in its armoury. After a brief debate in the United Nations, all nuclear weapons are destroyed.
2009 The first quantum generators (tapping space energy) are developed. Available in portable and household units, from a few kilowatts upwards, they can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down: the age of pylons ends.
Electronic monitoring virtually phases out professional criminals.
2011 Largest living animal filmed: a 76-metre octopus in the Mariana Trench. By coincidence, even larger creatures are then discovered when the first robot probes drill through the ice of Europa.
2012 Aerospace-planes enter commercial service.
2013 Prince Harry becomes the first member of the British royal family to fly in space.
2014 Construction of Hilton Orbiter Hotel begins by converting the giant shuttle tanks previously allowed to fall back to Earth.
2015 An inevitable by-product of the quantum generator is complete control of matter at the atomic level. Within a few years, because they are more useful, lead and copper cost twice as much as gold.
2016 Existing currencies are abolished. The "mega-watt-hour" becomes the universal unit of exchange.
2017 On his hundred birthday, December 16, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is one of the first guests in the Hilton Orbiter.
2019 A major meteor impact occurs on the north polar ice cap. The resulting tsunamis cause considerable damage along the coasts of Greeland and Canada. The long-discussed "Project Spaceguard," to identify and deflect potentially dangerous comets or asteroids, is finally activated.
2020 Artificial Intelligence reaches human level. From now on there are two intelligent species on Earth.
2021 The first humans land on Mars. 2023 Dinosaur facsimiles are cloned from computer-generated DNA.
2002 The first commercial device producing clean, safe power by low-temperate nuclear reactions goes on the market, heralding the end of the Fossil Fuel Age.
2003 The motor industry is given five years to replace all fuel-burning engines with the new energy device. The same year, NASA's robot Mars Surveyor is launched.
2004 First (publicly admitted) human clone.
2005 First sample sent back to Earth by Mars Surveyor.
2006 Last coal mine closed.
2008 A city in a developing country is devastated by the accidental detonation of an atomic bomb in its armoury. After a brief debate in the United Nations, all nuclear weapons are destroyed.
2009 The first quantum generators (tapping space energy) are developed. Available in portable and household units, from a few kilowatts upwards, they can produce electricity indefinitely. Central power stations close down: the age of pylons ends.
Electronic monitoring virtually phases out professional criminals.
2011 Largest living animal filmed: a 76-metre octopus in the Mariana Trench. By coincidence, even larger creatures are then discovered when the first robot probes drill through the ice of Europa.
2012 Aerospace-planes enter commercial service.
2013 Prince Harry becomes the first member of the British royal family to fly in space.
2014 Construction of Hilton Orbiter Hotel begins by converting the giant shuttle tanks previously allowed to fall back to Earth.
2015 An inevitable by-product of the quantum generator is complete control of matter at the atomic level. Within a few years, because they are more useful, lead and copper cost twice as much as gold.
2016 Existing currencies are abolished. The "mega-watt-hour" becomes the universal unit of exchange.
2017 On his hundred birthday, December 16, Sir Arthur C. Clarke is one of the first guests in the Hilton Orbiter.
2019 A major meteor impact occurs on the north polar ice cap. The resulting tsunamis cause considerable damage along the coasts of Greeland and Canada. The long-discussed "Project Spaceguard," to identify and deflect potentially dangerous comets or asteroids, is finally activated.
2020 Artificial Intelligence reaches human level. From now on there are two intelligent species on Earth.
2021 The first humans land on Mars. 2023 Dinosaur facsimiles are cloned from computer-generated DNA.
