December 01

1941 – Physicist Stephen A. Benton is born, known for being a pioneer in medical imaging and fine-arts holography.
1959 – First color photographs of the Earth from outer space were taken.
2005 – The "Deep Impact" space probe was launched, with the intention of releasing a special impactor spacecraft to crash into comet "Tempel 1". The successful mission revealed the comet to have more dust and less ice then expected, while also identifying clays, carbonates, sodium, crystalline silicates, and a surprisingly high number of organic molecules.

2384 – Commodore Kinziri Jal is assigned as commanding officer of the USS Drake, CL-2509.