The world’s first wooden satellite, LignoSat, was safely launched into space on November 5, 2024. This was a big step forward in the use of renewable materials in future space missions.
Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry worked together to make the satellite.
The unique goal of this satellite is to see if wood can be used for possible trips to the moon and Mars.
On a SpaceX flight, LignoSat will be taken to the International Space Station (ISS). From there, it will be sent into orbit about 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth.
The palm-sized satellite, whose name comes from the Latin word for “wood,” is meant to show that wood can be used as a safe building material for people to live in space in the future.
Takao Doi, an astronaut and researcher at Kyoto University, talked about how important this trip was by saying, “We will be able to build homes and live and work in space forever with wood, which is something we can make ourselves.”
Proof of ability
It’s not a completely new idea to use wood in aerospace uses. Professor Koji Murata, an expert in forest science at Kyoto University, said, “Planes were made of wood in the early 1900s.” It should also be possible to make a wooden satellite.
He said that wood might work better in space than other materials because it is less likely to break in the hard conditions that exist beyond Earth.
To add to the benefits of using wood in space, Murata said, “Wood is more durable in space than on Earth because there is no water or oxygen that would rot or burn it.”
Because of this one-of-a-kind quality, wooden satellites might last longer in space. Using a wooden satellite is also good for the environment in important ways.
According to Doi, “normal metal satellites make aluminum oxide particles when they re-enter, but wooden ones would just burn up with less pollution.”
This drop in pollution during the shutdown process shows that wooden satellites might be able to help with the problem of space junk.
The launch of LignoSat is a big step toward long-term, environmentally friendly space travel. Researchers are looking into how wood could be used as a building material in space. Their goal is to make it possible for people to live on other celestial worlds for a long time.
This project not only meets the need for long-lasting materials in space, but it also helps reach bigger environmental goals on Earth. It shows how new ideas in materials science can lead to big steps forward in both space research and sustainability.
What you need to know
A lot of conventional satellites are made of strong metals like titanium and aluminum. These materials were picked because they are strong, don’t melt in hot conditions, and can handle harsh conditions in space, like radiation and big changes in temperature.
But regular metal satellites can be bad for the world, especially when they come back down to Earth.
Metal satellites burn up when they re-enter the atmosphere because of the strong heat. This makes aluminum oxide particles.
This process adds to smog in the air and leaves behind waste that can hurt the environment. Metal satellites also add to the amount of space junk that is out there, which can damage other spacecraft and make it harder to go on future space trips.
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