The year 1502 in science and technology included many events, some of which are listed below.

Exploration

* January 1 – Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, sail into Guanabara Bay, Brazil, mistaking it for the mouth of a river, which they name Rio de Janeiro. * May 11 – Christopher Columbus leaves Cadiz, Spain for his fourth and final voyage to the New World. * May 21 – Portuguese navigator João da Nova discovers the uninhabited island of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

. * August 14 – Columbus lands at Trujillo and names the country '

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

'. * September 18 – Columbus lands in

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. * Amerigo Vespucci, on his return to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

from a voyage to the New World, writes a letter, ''Mundus Novus'', to Lorenzo de' Medici indicating that South America must be an independent continent. * The Cantino planisphere is the first known world map showing

Portuguese discoveries Portuguese maritime exploration resulted in the numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese as a result of their intensive maritime journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of Eu ...

Technology

* In Germany, Peter Henlein of Nuremberg uses iron parts and coiled springs to build a portable timepiece, the first "Nuremberg Eg".

Births

Pedro Nunes Pedro Nunes (; Latin: ''Petrus Nonius''; 1502 – 11 August 1578) was a Portuguese mathematician, cosmographer, and professor, from a New Christian (of Jewish origin) family. Considered one of the greatest mathematicians of his time, Nunes ...

, Portuguese mathematician (died

1578 __NOTOC__ Year 1578 (Roman numerals, MDLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 31 – Battle of Gembloux (1578), Battle of Ge ...

) * ''approx. date'' – Jorge Reinel, Portuguese

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

(d. after 1572)

References

{{Reflist 16th century in science 1500s in science