To the Stars with Data: August 15 2021
Coding with AI, satellites, making stuff from moon dust, and more
Hello Datanauts!
As of Thursday, my partner and I are officially homeowners! This issue and the next few issues will likely be a bit shorter than usual as I focus on our new home. Though this issue is shorter, it’s particularly juicy. 🤤
Let’s go to the stars with data!
Thought-Provoking Data Viz
Quick hits. This Tableau visualization displays currently active satellites in Earth orbit. Viewers can explore satellites by orbit type, purpose, intended lifespan, year of launch, and more.
Digging deeper. It’s stunning to see that ~2,200 satellites have launched since 2017, with ~1,200 launching in 2020 alone. Of those launched since 2001, 901 are from SpaceX. Truly, it seems we are in a space age.
Earth News
🤖 OpenAI releases Codex, an AI that translates language to computer code, in private beta
Quick hits. OpenAI’s Codex is an AI that translates natural human language to code. OpenAI is releasing Codex’s API to select users through a private beta program, and early results are promising. To see it in action, the above video shows someone using Codex to make a video game in just a few minutes instead of typing code for hours.
Digging deeper. When I first saw the video, I was truly speechless. Training an AI to both understand human language and translate it to over a dozen computer languages requires immense amounts of resources. Codex’s predecessor, GPT-3, trained on 175 billion parameters. Codex alone trained on another 12 billion parameters to train its coding abilities. (Parameters can be thought of as the insights that an AI learns from processing data.)
Bonus. It appears Codex is cheeky; it’s already rickrolled someone.
Space News
🌜 The European Space Agency wants companies to make oxygen from moon dust
Quick hits. The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking for proposals for machines to manufacture oxygen from lunar regolith (AKA moon dust). Processed lunar regolith can provide astronauts with breathable air, propellent for spacecraft, and metals for equipment. The ESA set strict requirements, such as extracting 70%+ of the oxygen available in the regolith and doing it in a short period of time (<10 Earth days).
Digging deeper. It’s already been shown that lunar regolith contains large amounts of oxygen. But creating lightweight equipment that survives the trip to the moon and the moon’s harsh environment is another challenge. Regardless, sending stuff to space is time-consuming and expensive. To maintain successful outposts off-planet, we must develop the infrastructure to allow for as much off-planet manufacturing as possible.
Bonus. Scientists on the International Space Station (ISS) are going to test additive manufacturing (AKA 3D printing) of goods in space using lunar regolith. The necessary equipment arrived safely on the ISS earlier this week.
Future-Thinking Companies
🏭 Varda. Varda aims to establish automated factories in space for products that can be manufactured in zero gravity (i.e. bioprinted organs, fiber-optic cables, or pharmaceuticals). They recently raised $42m in Series A.
👩🌾 Sybil. Sybil is an adorable autonomous garden companion that plants seeds and removes unwanted weeds. Think of it as your garden Roomba. It’s currently on Kickstarter if you want to support it!