Editing 1973 in science (section)

==Astronomy and space exploration==
* March 7 – [[Comet Kohoutek]] is discovered
* April 6 – Launch of [[Pioneer 11]] [[spacecraft]]
* May 14 – ''[[Skylab]]'', the [[United States]]' first [[space station]], is launched.
* [[Solar eclipse of June 30, 1973]] – Very long total [[solar eclipse]] visible in NE South America, the Atlantic, and central Africa. During the entire Second Millennium, only seven total solar eclipses exceed seven minutes of totality; this is the last. Observers aboard a [[Concorde]] jet are able to stretch totality to about 74 minutes by flying along the path of the moon's [[umbra]].
* July 25 – [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Mars 5]] space probe launched.
* November 3 – [[Mariner program]]: [[NASA]] launches the [[Mariner 10]] toward [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]] (on March 29, 1974, it becomes the first [[space probe]] to reach that planet); it will be the first space flight to use [[gravity assist]].
* December 3 – [[Pioneer program]]: [[Pioneer 10]] sends back the first close-up images of [[Jupiter]].
* December 7 – The "Big Ear" at the [[Ohio State University Radio Observatory]] begins a full-time [[search for extraterrestrial intelligence]] (SETI) radio survey, running continuously until [[1995 in science|1995]].