Editing 2003 in science (section)

==Space exploration==
*February 1 – [[Space Shuttle Columbia|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'']] [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|disintegrates]] over [[Texas]] upon [[Atmospheric reentry|reentry]] killing all seven [[astronauts]] on board. Specimens of ''[[Caenorhabditis elegans]]'' survive.
*June 2 – The first [[European Space Agency|European]] Mars mission ''[[Mars Express]]'' launched.
*September 27 – The first [[European Space Agency|European]] lunar mission ''[[Smart 1]]'' launched.
*October 15 – The People's Republic of China launches [[Shenzhou 5]], their first human spaceflight mission.
*December 25 – ''[[Mars Express]]'' enters orbit around [[Mars]]. Its lander, ''[[Beagle 2]]'', lands on the surface but is unable to deploy its communications equipment and its fate is discovered only in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30784886|title=Lost Beagle2 probe found 'intact' on Mars|first=Jonathan|last=Amos|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=2015-01-16|accessdate=2015-01-17}}</ref>