science predictions for 2020 | Future timeline

Read science predictions for 2020, a year that will see the world transform thanks to scientific disruptions that will impact a wide range of sectors—and we explore many of them below. It’s your future, discover what you’re in for.

Quantumrun Foresight prepared this list; A futurist consulting firm that uses strategic foresight to help companies thrive from future trends. This is just one of many possible futures society may experience.

science forecasts for 2020

  • Voyager 2 is expected to stop transmitting back to Earth. 1
  • The interaction of the three main decadal solar cycles suggests an upcoming reduction in solar activity, with a low-energy period centered on 2020. 1
  • The ESA (Europe), CNSA (China), FKA (Russia), and the SRO (India) each plan to send a human mission to the Moon. 1
  • China's first space station is scheduled to launch. 1
  • The Voyager program is expected to terminate. 1
  • World's first robot Olympics held in Japan. 1
  • China wants to land probe on dark side of the moon. 1
  • The Paris climate change deal comes into effect with the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. 1
  • World's first robot Olympics held in Japan 1
  • Venera-D space probe to reaches Venus1
  • Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL) goes into operation1
  • Giant Magellan Telescope goes into operation1
Forecast
In 2020, a number of science breakthroughs and trends will become available to the public, for example:
  • Between 2020 to 2023, a periodic solar event called a "grand minimum" overtakes the sun (lasting through 2070), resulting in diminished magnetism, infrequent sunspot production and less ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching Earth — all bringing a cooler per Likelihood: 50% 1
  • China wants to land probe on dark side of the moon. 1
  • The Paris climate change deal comes into effect with the goal of keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared with pre-industrial times. 1
  • World's first robot Olympics held in Japan 1
  • Venera-D space probe to reaches Venus 1
  • Overwhelmingly Large Telescope (OWL) goes into operation 1
  • Giant Magellan Telescope goes into operation 1
Prediction
Science related predictions due to make an impact in 2020 include:

Related technology articles for 2020:

View all 2020 trends

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