2003, Year Union Time Line

2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2003rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 3rd year of the 3rd millennium, the 3rd year of the 21st century, and the 4th year of the 2000s decade.

2003 was designated the:

International Year of freshwater.

February 1 – At the conclusion of the STS-107 mission, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry over Texas , killing all seven astronauts on board.

February 15 – Millions of people worldwide take part in massive anti-war protests before the United States and its allies invade Iraq. February 26 – The War in Darfur begins after rebel groups rise up against the Sudanese government.

April 14 – The Human Genome Project is completed, with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.

July 6 – The 70-meter Eupatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message Cosmic Call 2 to 5 stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409 , 55 Cancri , HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris , that will arrive at these stars in 2036 , 2040 , May 2044 , September 2044 and 2049 respectively.

Haumea, an oblong shaped Dwarf Planet and Trans Neptunian Object (TNO ) was first called 2003 EL61 first since his first appearance in a photograph dated 2003