360What happened in 1983?
6 moments from 1983 on 360n60, each told in 60 words or fewer.
- On this day · 13 June 1983
Pioneer 10 passes beyond the outer planets
On 13 June 1983, NASA's Pioneer 10 crossed the orbit of Neptune, then the most distant planet from the Sun, becoming the first spacecraft to pass beyond all the known planets. It carries a plaque with a message for anyone who might find it.
- On this day · 21 July 1983
The coldest temperature on Earth is recorded
On 21 July 1983, scientists at the Soviet research station Vostok, on the ice sheet of Antarctica, recorded an air temperature of minus 89.2°C. It remains the lowest directly measured air temperature on Earth. Satellites have since detected even colder spots on the ice surface.
- On this day · 30 August 1983
Guion Bluford becomes the first African American in space
On 30 August 1983, the astronaut Guion Bluford launched aboard the space shuttle Challenger, becoming the first African American to travel into space. A US Air Force pilot and aerospace engineer, he flew four shuttle missions.
- 1983 · from The first call from a handheld mobile phone
The DynaTAC 8000X goes on sale
- 1983 · from Christiaan Barnard performs the first human heart transplant
Ciclosporin is approved for transplant patients
- 1983 · from Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space
Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space