1808: Founding of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) by Louis Bonaparte. Initially named the Royal Institute of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts, the institution's mission was to advise the government and promote research. Today, it remains one of Europe's most prestigious learned societies, having counted geniuses such as Hendrik Lorentz and Albert Einstein among its members.

2022: The SEIS seismometer, the primary instrument of NASA's InSight lander, detects the most powerful quake ever recorded on another planet. With an estimated magnitude of 5, this Martian earthquake lasted for several hours. Designed in part with the expertise of researchers from the Royal Observatory of Belgium, this instrument has made it possible to probe the deep interior of Mars, revealing the structure of its core and mantle.

Image credits : nasa.gov