The world’s first wooden satellite, developed by Japanese researchers, was sent into space. In an experiment to test the durability of the material, a wooden satellite was created by Kyoto University researchers in collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry. LingoSat was named.
The wooden satellite was transported to the International Space Station (ISS) by a SpaceX mission and then released into orbit 400 kilometers above the Earth to test how it behaves in space conditions. LingoSat, a palm-sized satellite, was developed using wood.
Takao Doi, an astronaut who flew on the space shuttle and studies human space activities at Kyoto University, said: “With wood, a material we can produce ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever. “If we can prove that our first wooden satellite works, metal satellites may be banned in the future, so we want to offer this to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.” he said.
This milestone marks the first step in a 50-year plan to plant trees and build wooden homes and fields on the Moon and even Mars. While discussing the feasibility of a wooden satellite, Kyoto University forest science professor Koji Murata said, “In the early 1900s, airplanes were made of wood. “A wooden satellite should also be feasible.” he said.
There are two main reasons for sending a wooden satellite into space. The first of these is to test the durability of wood against the harsh conditions of space. If the results are positive, the researchers will receive approval to build wooden structures for space missions. Second, it minimizes environmental impact when a wooden satellite reaches the end of its life. Decommissioned satellites need to re-enter the atmosphere to avoid becoming space junk, and metal satellites will produce aluminum oxide when they re-enter the atmosphere, while wooden satellites will simply burn up and disappear.
Source: www.technopat.net
