What happened on January 3: Space wizard Dr Satish Dhawan passed away and the boy king of Egypt's coffin was discovered

Today, when we say Satish Dhawan, the first thing that might occur to you is the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, the rocket launch centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at Sriharikota. But the mathematician and aerospace engineer is actually the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India.

A professor at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru, it was after the tenure of Father of Indian Space Programme Vikram Sarabhai that this Srinagar-born scientist took over the reins of ISRO and was even the Secretary to the Government of India at the Department of Space. It was this Padma Vibhushan awardee who steered the successful launch of India's first satellite, Aryabhata. Even INSAT, the telecommunications satellite; ISR (Indian Remote Sensing) satellite and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) were operational systems and were possible mainly due to his efforts. He passed away on January 3, 2002.

Dhawan also had a Master’s in English Literature, an MS in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, US; was a family man through and through and a keen birder too!

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King Tut's coffin!
The sarcophagus (stone coffin) of the boy king of Egypt's Pharoh Tutankhamen was discovered by British archaeologist Howard Carter on January 3, 1924. And with this, the Egyptologist's 32-year-long journey to find the remains of this ancient Egyptian king ended. Though, with regards to Howard Carter, the date November 4, 1922 is more popular because it was on this day that the tomb of King Tutankhamen was discovered and most memorably, it created quite an uproar. But January 3, 1924 is also important. Why? Because it was in the pure gold coffin young king's famous golden mask was discovered. Which gave the world the golden face that our minds tend to recall when one refers to the famous boy king of Egypt!

Feel again
"It's almost like it's back again!" exclaimed Almerina Mascarello, the same woman who lost her hand in an accident. These are the words she uttered when she became the first person to receive a bionic hand on January 3, 2018. What's that, you ask? Basically, it's a prosthetic hand with sensors! This was a huge leap for neuroprosthetics and mankind as well. Today, many start-ups are working on robotic prosthesis and seems like soon, it will be a solid reality.