In this review, we sketch the timeline on the development of rarefied gas dynamics. Major achievements over the past 20-30 years are treated intensively, particularly the great progress and application of molecular simulation approaches such as the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method and the information preservation (IP) method. We summarize the rarefied gas flows in the context of aerospace engineering, vacuum industry, micro-electro-mechanical systems, as well as topics in recent International Symposia on Rarefied Gas Dynamics (2008, 2010 & 2012). Based on these discussions, the subject frontier and several grand challenges associated with applications are pointed out, including accurate prediction and experimental verification of hypersonic nonequilibrium three-dimensional flow fields in transition regime, spatially and temporally evolving pattern and measurement of the thermosphere, design and optimization of MEMS with gaseous medium, quantitative design at atomistic level of film deposition in vacuum.
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