To the Stars with Data: October 24 2021
Space tech investing, pig to human kidney transplants, the Google Maps of space, gorgeous exoplanet travel posters, and more
Hello Datanauts!
In this issue, I dive into the world of investing in space tech, pig-to-human kidney transplants, the Google Maps of space, gorgeous exoplanet travel posters, and more awesome stuff.
Okay, I know I say that I have awesome stuff for you every week, but this week I added a little something extra awesome. Coincidentally, you’ll find it in the “Extra” section.
Let’s go to the stars with data!
Thought-Provoking Data Viz
🤑 Understanding the capital ($$) flowing into space technology
Quick hits. In this interactive dashboard, Space Capital, a space technology venture capital firm, visualizes where investments have been made in space technology companies since 2012. They delve into the source of investment, stage of investment, country of investment, and much much more. I highly recommend exploring!
Earth News
🐷 Surgeons Successfully Transplanted a Pig Kidney into a Human Patient In a World First
Quick hits. Researchers have found it difficult to successfully transplant organs from pigs into humans in the past because human bodies would reject the organ due to a specific sugar molecule found in pigs and not in humans. Recently, however, researchers from a biotech firm were able to successfully transplant a kidney from pig to human by taking the kidney from pigs that were modified to not carry a specific gene that allowed for the production of that sugar. After 54 hours of observation of the transplant, there was no evidence of organ rejection.
Digging deeper. In the US alone, there are about 90,000 people waiting for a kidney transplant. People on the waitlist for a kidney transplant make up the bulk of the approximate 110,000 people waiting for organ transplants in the US. Again in the US, approximately 18 people died per day waiting for an organ transplant in 2020. Proponents are hopeful that genetically engineering organs that successfully and safely transplant from pig to human could help reduce waiting times and decrease deaths from waiting for organ transplants.
👃 MIT’s robotic nose can detect first sign of disease
Quick hits. Though it’s not commonly realized, diseases can be smelled because they produce toxic byproducts that can be sensed. Unfortunately, human noses are too weak to sense the byproducts, whereas dogs' are up to 100,000 times better (which is why they can detect COVID19). But training dogs to detect disease is time-consuming and expensive. To address this, MIT researchers developed an AI-supported “nano-nose”. In one of their tests, the nose was able to sense signs of prostate cancer from urine with 70% accuracy(!).
Digging deeper. The researchers say that it would be possible to implement a nano-nose (or similar technology) in the common smartphone within the next 5 years. I’ll withhold making predictions, but I will say that being able to tell if someone is getting sick would be incredibly beneficial for public health. With COVID, for example, this means someone would be able to successfully test and quarantine themselves at home before they’re contagious and/or symptomatic.
Space News
🗺 Steve Wozniak’s Privateer aims to be the Google Maps of space
Quick hits. As I mentioned last month, Steve Wozniak announced that he was founding Privateer to address the space debris problem. Though the intention of the startup was murky at the time, we have a bit more detail now. Apparently, Wozniak and his co-founder won't clean up space debris right away. Instead, they first want to map what's in orbit to understand the depth of the problem. They aim to launch their first satellite in just four months, on Feb 11, 2022.
Digging deeper. I’ve mentioned many times how bad the space debris problem is: how do you capture/destroy millions of small things flying around at 18,000 miles per hour? Wozniak’s co-founder, Alex Fielding, agrees; he thinks that we are within 24 months of a human space casualty due to the debris.
🛰 Meet Starlab: Private space station planned to fly in 2027
Quick hits. Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin plan to launch a commercial space station, Starlab, in 2027. Housing up to 4 people, it is meant to be a tourist destination and research and manufacturing hub. It will be approximately 1/3 the internal size of the International Space Station at 12,000 cubic feet. Check out Nanoracks’s Starlab page for specific details.
Digging deeper. With the International Space Station likely being retired within the 2028-2030 timeframe, we will need increased capacity in space to conduct experiments and generally support the burgeoning “space economy”. As the article notes, there will be increased competition in the space station space, with Axiom Space, Sierra Space, and Blue Origin all expressing interest in building their own orbiting outpost.
Extra
🌌 NASA’s fictional Exoplanet Travel Bureau examines human life on extraterrestrial planets
Quick hits. In the above video and promotional posters, NASA’s fictional Exoplanet Travel Bureau examines human life on extraterrestrial planets. Reminiscent of twentieth-century sci-fi book covers, I am a particularly big fan of some of the posters. Though it’s designed in a different style, I find the James Webb Space Telescope poster particularly captivating.
Future-Thinking Companies
🛰 LEO Labs. They provide tracking of satellites and space debris in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). But for the layperson, they also make an awesome live map of 17,591 orbiting objects. Seriously, go check out their live map; it’s a thing of beauty.
🌊 Akua. They make food from kelp! Their burger and jerky products contain kelp, mushrooms, and other superfoods.