To the Stars with Data: January 9 2022
James Webb Space Telescope awesomeness, autonomous tractors, climate tech VCs, and much more
Hello Datanauts!
I hope that everyone had a joyous and rejuvenating holiday season. On a personal level, 2021 was a very full year for me: I started this newsletter, started volunteering, bought a house, adopted a dog, and my partner started a new job. I hope that 2022 will be a bit calmer, but I plan on it being just as productive. đȘ
Starting with this issue, Iâm going to make a slight change with To the Stars with Data that I hope you all will enjoy: instead of diving deep into 4/5 articles, Iâm going to dive deep into 2 and provide links (and brief commentary) for 6-7 articles. I hope this will allow you all to digest my newsletter more quickly while also consuming more awesome news.
Do you like the change? Do you hate it? Iâd love to hear what you think!
Now, letâs go to the stars with data!
Thought-Provoking Data Viz
đ Where Is Webb?
Quick hits. This âWhere is Webb?â tool allows users to understand where the James Webb Space Telescope (âJWSTâ) is between Earth and its final destination, the second Lagrange Point (âL2â). Users can toggle the âtimelineâ between distance or time and the measurement system between metric or imperial. Notably, users can easily see the huge temperature difference on the hot and cold sides of the spacecraft. No wonder the JWST needs a sun shield!
Digging deeper. Further down the page, NASA has provided a wealth of information about JWST and its mission, including videos about its deployment (dramatic and non-dramatic) and 3D diagrams of the telescope (top, bottom, y-axis). Amazingly, over its journey, JWST will need to successfully overcome 344 single-point failures (things that need to happen successfully for the telescope to work), which is âthe most difficult and complex deployment sequence ever attempted in spaceâ. For comparison, a Mars mission has just over 100 single-point failures. (đ±)
Earth News
đ John Deere will release a fleet of autonomous tractors in late 2022
Quick hits. At CES 2022, John Deere (the USâs leading tractor company) announced they will release 10-50 autonomous electric tractors by the end of 2022. The autonomous tractor will be able to till soil by itself (read: without a driver in its cockpit), though drivers can monitor the tractorâs status and will be alerted if it encounters anything anomalous. This is one of the first steps in John Deereâs plans within the next decade to provide tractors that can plant seeds, apply fertilizers, and harvest crops autonomously.
Digging deeper. Autonomous farming is coming closer and closer to reality in a variety of ways. Autonomous vehicles that can run 24 hours per day that till soil (e.g. FarmDroid), plant seeds (e.g. Small Robot Company), weed (e.g. Carbon Robotics and FarmWise), and harvest (e.g. advanced.farm) are already available for purchase. Additionally, automated farms (often vertical) already grow a lot of produce across the United States and throughout the world. Examples in the US include Bowery, infarm, Little Leaf Farms, Mycionics, Oishii, root.ai, and many many more.
More Earth News
â Chinese scientists develop an AI prosecutor that can press its own charges. The AI operates with 97% efficacy and can identify eight common crimes. (Possible paywall)
đ First AI-designed drug candidate reaches human trials. It is designed to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease that affects ~0.01% of the population and leads to progressive and irreversible lung-function decline. (Once diagnosed, someone lives for an average of only 4 more years.)
⥠Hyundai closed its internal combustion engine development division, officially moving the company to an electric-only future, which they plan to move to âas quickly as possibleâ.
Space News
đ James Webb Space Telescope successfully launches and unfolds its mirrors
Quick hits. The James Webb Space Telescope (âJWSTâ), the most powerful space telescope ever constructed and launched, has successfully unfolded its mirrors on its way to the 2nd Lagrange Point (âL2â) outside of the Moonâs orbit. JWST launched on December 25 and has been making its way towards its orbit for the past ~2 weeks. Now that its mirrors are deployed, the NASA team needs to align its 18 mirrors using 126 actuators. JWST will not begin taking pictures until ~May.
Digging deeper. You may be wondering why humanity has held and released a collective breath during JWSTâs launch and deployment. Whatâs so special about a space telescope? Well, the JWST has been under construction for 2 decades and was launched very behind schedule and very above budget. Considering itâs ~100x better than its predecessor, the Hubble, letâs just say that the science community has been anticipating this day for a long time.
More Space News
đ· China launches Beijing-3 satellite, which has the power to take photos with a very high resolution over a wider area and faster than any other satellite in orbit.
đ The United Nations decrees that July 20âthe anniversary of the first person landing on the moonâis officially International Moon Day.
đȘ Scientists discover 170 rogue exoplanet candidates, with 70 very likely being planets. Rogue exoplanets are planets outside our solar system that do not orbit stars.
Future-Thinking Companies
đž Lowercarbon Capital. Iâll just quote their website: âLowercarbon Capital backs kickass companies that make real money slashing CO2 emissions, sucking carbon out of the sky, and buying us time to unf**k the planet.â
đŁ Footprint Coalition. They facilitate crowdfunding for research into advanced climate technologies that aren't well enough funded by governments and universities.