The world’s first wooden satellite, created by Japanese researchers, was launched into space on Tuesday, November 5, to test the use of wood in space.
“The world’s first wooden satellite was launched on Tuesday to prove that wood is a suitable material for use in space,” it said.
The LignoSat satellite, developed by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan, is made from honoki wood, a type of magnolia tree traditionally used to make sword scabbards.
“With wood, a material we can produce ourselves, we can build houses, live and work in space forever,” said Takao Doi, an astronaut who studies human activities in space at Kyoto University.
The research team also plans to plant trees on the moon and Mars in 50 years.
Japanese researchers conducted a 10-month experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and discovered that honoki is the wood most suitable for use in space. They then built the LignoSat using traditional Japanese craft techniques without screws or glue.
“If we can prove that our first wooden satellite works, we want to hand it over to Elon Musk’s SpaceX,” Doy said.
The satellite will measure how the wood withstands the extreme conditions of the space environment, where temperatures range from -100 to +100 degrees Celsius (-148 to +212 degrees Fahrenheit) every 45 minutes. The satellite will also measure wood’s ability to reduce the impact of cosmic radiation on semiconductors.
The first four Starship missions launched in April 2023, November 2023, March and June of this year. SpaceX believes that if all goes according to plan, this reusable space vehicle will allow humanity to colonize the Moon, Mars and other planets.
