Two of NASA’s space pioneers – the James Webb Space Telescope and the Curiosity rover on Mars – have been included in the “Best Inventions Hall of Fame”, a special pantheon of inventions that TIME magazine formed this year to mark a quarter of a century of its selection of the best innovations. In the company of the 25 most influential inventions of the modern era, these two machines, each in its own way, have changed the way we view the universe and our own place in it.

TIME builds this “Hall of Fame” on a tradition started in 2000, when it first published the “Best Inventions” list. In the meantime, smartphones, mRNA vaccines, new generations of electric cars, artificial intelligence, and a series of other technologies that have redefined everyday life have alternated on these lists. The inclusion of Webb and Curiosity in this elite society means not only that they are technically fascinating, but that through their discoveries, data, and stimulation of public curiosity, they have left a visible mark on the entire planet.

Behind this decision lies a months-long process in which TIME, with suggestions from its own editors and correspondents from around the world, evaluates candidates according to criteria such as originality, ambition, long-term effectiveness, and global impact. In this context, a space telescope located about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth and a robotic laboratory that has been driving across the surface of Mars for more than a decade stand out not only as scientific projects but as symbols of human perseverance.

How TIME Builds Its Innovation “Hall of Fame”

TIME’s list of best inventions has never been a mere technological parade. The editorial board systematically looks for projects that change society, healthcare, science, and the economy – from major infrastructure solutions to devices we hold in our pockets every day. With the new “Hall of Fame”, the editors decided to make a cross-section through 25 years and single out inventions that have proven durable over time: those that are as relevant today as the moment they were introduced.

This group includes products and solutions that have marked entire industries – from pioneering smartphones, through video sharing platforms, all the way to medical achievements that changed the course of the pandemic. In this same gallery, Webb and Curiosity found themselves as representatives of a category that often seems abstract, but in practice strongly shapes everyday life: fundamental science and space exploration.

TIME emphasizes several key criteria here. The first is originality – to what extent the invention introduces a completely new approach to a problem. The second is continued effectiveness: does the technology lose its shine after a few years, or does time actually work in its favor because it opens new possibilities over the years. The third is ambition, that is, the readiness to push the boundaries of the possible through risk and innovation. And finally, impact – from scientific citations and published papers to how much the way we think about the world has changed.

James Webb: The Most Powerful Window into Deep Space

The James Webb Space Telescope is often described as the successor to the legendary Hubble, but in practice, it is an instrument that has opened an entirely new astronomical era. Webb was launched at the end of 2021 on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana and placed in orbit around the L2 point of the Sun–Earth system, approximately 1.5 million kilometers from our planet. There, protected by a massive multi-layer Sunshield, it observes the universe mainly in the infrared range, where it can peer through clouds of gas and dust in which stars and galaxies are born.

The most striking part of Webb is the primary mirror with a diameter of 6.5 meters, composed of 18 gold-coated segments. Each segment is precisely adjustable so that the entire system functions as one perfectly aligned mirror. The combination of the large diameter and sensitive detectors allows the telescope to record the light of objects so distant that they formed hundreds of millions of years after the Big Bang. For comparison, Hubble, still an extremely valuable instrument, has a primary mirror with a diameter of 2.4 meters and works predominantly in the visible and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum.

Since the first scientific images, Webb has delivered a catalog of discoveries that have reshaped cosmology and planetary science. Using it, astronomers have identified some of the oldest known galaxies, analyzed the chemical composition of exoplanet atmospheres, and tracked complex star formation processes in nebulae. Recent observations have shown, for example, exoplanets with atmospheres that surprise with their persistence despite the proximity of host stars, as well as “hot Jupiters” losing gas in long tails, which has sparked a new debate about how planets lose atmospheres in extreme conditions.

Webb has also discovered traces of extremely massive, so-called “monster” stars in the early history of the universe. Their presence helps explain how supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies formed in a relatively short time after the Big Bang. For scientists, such data are not just another item in a catalog, but key points that test and change existing theoretical models.

Webb’s Technological Legacy Beyond Astronomy

The complete assembly and commissioning of Webb was an engineering marvel in itself. The telescope had to be “unpacked” in space through hundreds of sequential maneuvers – from opening the Sunshield the size of a tennis court to the precise deployment of mirror segments. That phase was so risky that many at NASA described it as “30 days of terror”. But precisely because of these requirements, technologies were developed that today find application far beyond astronomy.

Extremely precise optics and advanced detectors, made to recognize the faintest infrared glow of distant galaxies, have been incorporated into the development of high-end cameras, medical devices, and industrial sensors. Lens coating techniques, which increase reflectivity in specific wavelengths, are used in the production of contact lenses and sophisticated objectives. Advanced temperature control and material stress systems, developed so that sensitive instruments could work at temperatures lower than –200 °C, are applied in semiconductor manufacturing and precise inspection of turbine blades and aircraft engine components.

Such technology transfer is not an accidental byproduct, but part of the broader logic of space programs: investing in a risky but revolutionary project ultimately results in tools and knowledge that return to everyday life. TIME recognized precisely this as one of Webb’s key values – the fact that the telescope, although physically unreachable, has a very tangible effect on industry, innovation, and future scientific generations.

Curiosity: A Laboratory the Size of a Car on the Red Planet

If Webb is a symbol of gazing into deep space, Curiosity is a symbol of the persistent exploration of our neighbor, Mars. The rover is part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, launched at the end of 2011, and it landed on the surface of the Red Planet in August 2012 in Gale Crater. Curiosity is the largest and most complex rover ever sent to Mars – it is the size of a small car, with a robotic arm, drills, spectrometers, cameras, and an entire chemical laboratory in its “belly”.

Its spectacular landing entered the history of space missions: instead of classic airbags or simple rocket braking, Curiosity was lowered using a robotic “sky crane”, a system that, hovering above the surface of Mars, slowly lowered the rover to the ground on cables, and then flew away so as not to damage the vehicle. That concept, although extremely risky, opened the door to sending heavier and more complex payloads to Mars – which is a key prerequisite for future missions with a human crew.

Curiosity’s main scientific task from day one was to answer the question: could Mars once have been habitable? Unlike some previous missions, which focused on traces of water in ice or the atmosphere, this rover investigates rocks, soil, and sediments to reconstruct environmental history and assess whether conditions suitable for microbial life existed in the past.

What Curiosity Has Revealed to Us About Mars

Over more than a decade of exploring Gale Crater, Curiosity has discovered convincing evidence that a lake existed in that area, which could have lasted for millions of years. Analysis of layered sedimentary rocks, river deposits, and clay minerals shows that the water in that environment was relatively mild, not too acidic or salty, with a chemical composition favorable for microorganisms. A diverse range of organic molecules has also been identified in some rocks, further confirming that Mars had the potential for life in the distant past.

Curiosity has on several occasions analyzed the composition of the Martian atmosphere, tracking, among other things, changes in methane levels. Although the origin of these changes remains a subject of debate – they could be the result of geological processes, but also hypothetical biological activity – the fact that methane changes seasonally suggests that Mars is a more dynamic planet than long assumed. Additionally, the rover found traces of water bound in minerals in dust and rock, as well as a wealth of hydrated minerals that testify to the planet’s complex water history.

Newer findings, including the discovery of minerals like siderite (iron carbonate) in certain layers, shed additional light on the climatic history of Mars. These minerals suggest that in certain periods, conditions in the lake were stable long enough for carbonate rocks to form, which is another piece of the puzzle about how Mars turned from a relatively mild world into the cold, today mostly inhospitable desert.

Curiosity also explored rocks that preserve traces of waves and tiny ripples at the bottom of former lakes, suggesting that part of the Martian water surfaces was open and exposed to wind, rather than permanently frozen. Such structures resemble shallows on Earth, where wind and waves shape characteristic patterns on the bottom. For scientists, this is further confirmation that Mars experienced periods with a relatively mild climate and long-lasting liquid water.

Curiosity as a Scout for Future Astronauts

Besides geological and climatic research, Curiosity also has the task of preparing the terrain for future human missions. As part of this, it carries the RAD (Radiation Assessment Detector) instrument, which continuously measures radiation levels on the surface of Mars. These data are compared with measurements during the trip between Earth and Mars, which helps estimate how much astronauts would be exposed to space radiation, how long they could stay on the surface, and what kind of protection they would need.

RAD results are important not only for medical and engineering mission preparation but also for planning infrastructure on Mars – from possible base locations to how natural shelters like caves or larger rocks could be used. In combination with data on temperatures, pressure, and dust storms, Curiosity is thus slowly turning Gale Crater into a sort of “testing ground” for future human expeditions.

Along with RAD, the rover also has meteorological instruments that track wind, temperature, and atmospheric changes. A long time series of data allows scientists to better understand Martian annual cycles, seasonal changes, and extreme phenomena like dust storms that can engulf the entire planet. All these elements are directly relevant to the design of future settlements and planning activities on the surface.

A Space Tandem Changing the View of the Universe

The inclusion of Webb and Curiosity in TIME’s “Hall of Fame” is a reminder that space exploration is not a luxury, but a long-term investment in knowledge and technology. Webb shows us how galaxies and stars formed in the earliest phases of the universe, but also what the atmospheres of planets outside the Solar System look like today. Curiosity, on the other hand, reconstructs the history of Mars layer by layer, looking for traces of former lakes, rivers, and potential life.

Together, these two projects create a bridge between cosmic scales and very concrete questions. While Webb, looking deep into the past of the universe, helps scientists understand how planets and conditions for life form, Curiosity provides a realistic insight into what a world that might once have been similar to Earth, and then dramatically changed, would look like. Comparing these two ends of the spectrum – the early universe and a neighboring planet – is key to understanding just how unique Earth truly is.

TIME’s recognition is therefore not just a symbolic plaque, but a confirmation that Webb and Curiosity are already part of a broader cultural story about human curiosity. Their photographs – nebulae, galaxies, and “selfies” from Mars – tour social networks, enter school textbooks, and inspire new generations of pupils and students to turn to science, technology, and engineering. In a time when information noise and short-lived trends are everyday life, such projects remind us of the value of long-term, patient research.

In practice, Webb and Curiosity are just the beginning of a broader wave. New missions are in orbit and on the way that will explore the Moon, asteroids, icy moons of outer planets, and additional exoplanets. But it is precisely these two “veterans” that have shown how the combination of top-notch engineering, international cooperation, and bold scientific vision can create inventions that deserve a place not only in scientific journals but also in a sort of hall of fame of modern technology.

For NASA, but also for the wider scientific community, TIME’s recognition is an opportunity to be reminded of how many such projects are the result of the work of thousands of people – engineers, scientists, technicians, administrators – who work for decades on ideas whose fruits they may never personally see. For the public, it is a call to continue investing in research that does not bring immediate commercial profit, but in the long term changes the way we view the world and ourselves.

The James Webb Telescope and the Curiosity rover may be millions of kilometers away from us, but their results are very present on Earth – in scientific papers, technological innovations, but also in every child who, looking at their images, feels for the first time that the universe is something more than an abstract concept from a textbook. Precisely because of this, their place in TIME’s “Best Inventions Hall of Fame” acts as a logical, almost inevitable step in the story of the greatest inventions of our age.