🚀 Mission LAIKA: Linear Algebra in Kinematics and Aerodynamics

Welcome to Mission LAIKA, a visual exploration of Linear Algebra through real-world applications in kinematics and aerodynamics. This project uses Manim to create mathematical animations that explain abstract concepts in a way that is easy to understand for Aerospace Engineering students.

Some animations are accompanied by Python exercises run using Google Colab.

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Current Case Studies

The animations include:

• Case Study 1: Cleared for take-off
• Case Study 4: Facing wind - I
• Case Study 5: Pitch perfect
• Case Study 6: Facing wind - II
• Case Study 8A: Modelling the airplane as a mass-spring system
• Case Study 8B: Navigating Subspaces
• Case Study 9A: will the wings fall off - I
• Case Study 9B: will the wings fall off - II
• Case Study 10: Swinging Back to Safety
• Case Study 12: Why Airplanes Don’t Twist
• Case Study 19: will the wings fall off? -revisited with beam

The Python exercises include:

• Case Study 15: Satellite Connection Back Online
• Case Study 19: Will the Wings Fall off Revisited

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Repository Structure

Mission-LAIKA/
├── CaseStudy1/
├── CaseStudy4/
├── CaseStudy5/
├── CaseStudy6/
├── CaseStudy8/
├── CaseStudy9/
├── CaseStudy10/
├── CaseStudy12/
├── CaseStudy19/
├── PythonExercises/        # Python notebooks to accompany animations
├── assets/                 # Images, SVGs used
├── requirements.txt        # Python dependencies
└── README.md               # Project overview

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Getting Started

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/Mission-LAIKA.git
cd Mission-LAIKA

2. Set up your environment

Install Manim Community Edition and dependencies. For MacOS:

pip install -r requirements.txt

For Linux/WSL:

pip install -r requirements_linux.txt

3. Render an animation

Navigate to the animation folder, e.g.:

cd CaseStudy1

and run:

manim -p beginning.py

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Finished animations

Case Study 1: Cleared for take-off

Case Study 4: Facing wind - I

Case Study 5: Pitch perfect

Case Study 6: Facing wind - II

Case Study 8A: Modelling the airplane as a mass-spring system

Case Study 8B: Navigating Subspaces

Case Study 9A: will the wings fall off - I

Case Study 9B: will the wings fall off - II

Case Study 10: Swinging Back to Safety

Case Study 12: Why Airplanes Don’t Twist

Case Study 19: will the wings fall off? -revisited with beam

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! If you have ideas for new scenes or applications, open an issue or submit a PR.

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Author

Animations made by Jakub Fręchowicz and Stella Schultz

Feel free to reach out!