Seahorse Placentas | Space Film | Drone Tulips - The Convo Kit #16

Welcome! Many new readers today thanks to your sharing last week, what a birthday treat. Almost as great as sharing The Convo Kit: Keyboard shortcuts. This entire issue was typed by my left hand.

-Steve

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Male Seahorse Placentas

Seahorses are the only known animals in which males carry out pregnancy. Scientists recently discovered their brood pouch acts similar to human placentas.

• Seahorse pregnancy: 10 days - 6 weeks

• Baby seahorses are called "fry"

• 1 birth = up to 1,000 fry

Human placentas are made of a different tissue but serve the same purpose. This convergent evolution provides a pleasant reminder of the beauty of life.

More details and an expecting father seahorse here.

Filming in Space

Roscosmos (Russia's “NASA”) will film a movie on the International Space Station next week. It will be the first full-length movie recorded entirely in space and features a Dr. attempting to save a cosmonaut.

• 1 actress + 2 person film crew

• Filming Duration: 10 days

• Title: Challenge

Astronaut Mark Vande Hei will give up his return seat on Oct. 16th to allow the film team a quick trip. His ISS stay, now extended, will set a record as the longest space mission by an American, 353 days. Coincidently exactly 353 more days than fellow American Jeff Bezos.

Pics and details of the crew here.

Drone Tulips

Matternet's Station is an automated drone landing dock resembling a tulip. Petals unfold when Station detects an incoming drone delivery, then close to protect and process cargo.

• Height: 10 feet

• Currently in Sweden

• Coming Soon: 40 Stations in Abu Dhabi

Cargo, currently medical supplies, is placed in a deposit box at the base of the tulip. Think pneumatic tubes with less physical infrastructure. Though nothing replaces the excitement of a tube-delivered bank drive-thru lollipop. If you know, you know.

Check out the tulip dock here.

Moon Dust

Masten Space Systems wants to melt moon dust (regolith) into temporary landing pads, FAST. FAST will drop particles that rapidly cool into a landing pad directly below Artemis landers.

• FAST = Flight Alumina Spray Technique

• 410 lbs. of particles + 10 sec = pad

• Artemis landers weigh 2-6x Apollo landers

NASA's Artemis mission moon-landers need to avoid damage from regolith kicked up by their boosters, propelled at 3,000 ft./sec. The sharp dust can damage equipment and potentially harm astronauts. Now if we could just get one for beach sand...

Take a look at FAST renders and diagrams here.

Mini Pupper

MangDang's new mini-quadruped robot is an affordable robo-dog. The Mini Pupper is currently a kickstarter program offering fully assembled and open-source DIY e-doggos.

• Animated LCD "face"

• 30 minute charge = 25 minute usage

• Fully assembled price: $589

Mini Pupper runs on a Raspberry Pi microprocessor and is compatible with third-party attachments such as LiDAR. Weighing in at 20oz. and standing 6.5 inches tall, Pupper’s closest rival may be cats that adorably sit on keyboards.

Video of the lil pupper available here.

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