The Iconic Interstellar ‘Miller’s Planet Scene’ gets its own Adorable LEGO Brick Recreation

“Cooper! This is no time for caution.”

As the Ranger Ship descended on Miller’s Planet, hope suddenly turned to dismay and then to horror as Joseph Cooper and Dr. Brand realized that not only was the planet unviable for human life, their crew member was dead, they had wasted 23 years simply in the minutes they spent on the planet’s surface, and they were just mere moments away from a killer tidal wave approaching them from the horizon. The scene from blockbuster space-thriller Interstellar is noteworthy for causing a wide range of emotions and creating a visual tension only director Christopher Nolan can conjure. Now, LEGO builder Minibrick Productions is paying tribute to the Miller’s Planet scene with their tiny LEGO-based recreation that features the ranger aircraft, astronauts Cooper and Brand, and the shapeshifting robots TARS and CASE.

Designer: Minibrick Productions

Miller’s Planet is the first of the 3 planets explored by the group of astronauts looking for a viable alternative to earth. While crew-member Romilly stays back on the main ship, Cooper and Brand (played by Michael McConaughey and Anne Hathaway) travel to the planet, located close to a black hole. Little did they know that not only would this visit be futile, it would cost them decades because of the planet’s proximity to the black hole, causing a warp in space-time. Minibrick Productions’ rendition of this scene is as accurate as it gets, with all the characters and a rather realistic-looking Ranger spacecraft to match. McConaughey and Hathaway come outfitted in their space suits, while TARS and CASE, two monolithic-looking robots sport repositionable arms that allow them to walk like a human.

The Ranger craft itself is more than just aesthetic. Pop its hood off and there’s an entire cockpit where Cooper and Brand fit right in, along with a crawl-space where TARS or CASE can dock themselves. The rear hatch on the craft can open and close too, revealing the ramp through which the astronauts enter and exit the craft.

“This set would be mindless fun to a child who dreams of exploring space, as well as any collector who wishes to display one of the most iconic vehicles from science fiction,” says Minibrick Productions, the creator behind this LEGO scene. The LEGO Miller’s Planet scene from Interstellar comprises just 532 bricks, making it a relatively simple build for kids and enthusiasts alike. It currently sits in LEGO’s Ideas forum with over 4000 votes from the community. If it reaches the 10,000 mark, LEGO’s internal team will review it before turning it from a fan-made submission into a box-set that anyone can buy. Click here to vote for this build!

The post The Iconic Interstellar ‘Miller’s Planet Scene’ gets its own Adorable LEGO Brick Recreation first appeared on Yanko Design.

Interstellar-inspired futuristic ‘cylindrical’ city concept combines farmland with urban dwelling

The ‘Urban Condenser’ was proposed as a concept to help cities become more cohesive units of society, allowing for farming as well as urban living to be done on the same plot of land in a way that allows both to coexist and benefit from each other. Although an entirely wild concept, it finds its roots and inspiration in ‘Cooper Station’ from the popular sci-fi movie Interstellar. Unlike Cooper Station, however, this cylindrical city doesn’t have a variable gravitational point. Instead, it features a curved land base for farming, and an arch-shaped floating city on top, complete with houses, commercial spaces, and other urban amenities. The unique shape of the Urban Condenser also opens it up to a lot of tourism, keeping the city lively and funded.

The case that the designers behind the ‘Urban Condenser’ involves accepting migrant workers as a part of a singular community that bridges the rural and urban divide. Migrant workers form the main chunk of the workforce responsible for helping develop urban communities, but they seldom enjoy the benefits of these communities. “They work in cities but do not have urban hukou, or household registration, and do not enjoy social security,” say the designers. “They make great contributions to the city, they yearn for the city, but are not accepted by the city and are free from mainstream society.”

The large cylindrical community (one might call it a literal representation of a ‘pipe’ dream!) houses these migrant workers in its unique design, while being located within the city that they wish to be a part of. The lower part of the city is connected to the land, making it perfect for agriculture, while the sides and the upper elements are ideal for dwelling, amenities, and commercial/cultural parts of the city experience. “With community, city, migrant workers, residents, and other dimensions of identity as the object, and with lifestyle, tourism, community mechanism, and other connections within the community as the link, the Urban Condenser builds a super community to stimulate social development”, the designers mention.

Designers: Yunheng Fan, Baoying Liu, Rongwei Gao, Junliang Liu

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Interstellar is still struggling to put private rockets in space

Japan’s budding private spaceflight industry is still struggling, even with some early signs of success. Interstellar Technologies’ MOMO-5 sounding rocket failed to reach space after its launch from Hokkaido early on June 14th. The engine was “manual...