Japan Created the World’s First Wooden Satellite, which is Set to Launch

On Tuesday, Japanese researchers launched the world’s first wooden satellite into space, marking the first time that wood would be used for lunar and Mars exploration.

The LignoSat, created by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, will be sent into orbit approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles) above Earth after being transported to the ISS on a SpaceX mission.

The palm-sized LignoSat, named after the Latin word for “wood,” is entrusted with showcasing the renewable material’s cosmic possibilities as humans investigate space habitation.

“We will be able to build houses, live, and work in space forever with timber, a material we can produce ourselves,” stated astronaut Takao Doi, a Space Shuttle veteran and Kyoto University researcher on human space activities.

Doi and his team decided to create a NASA-certified wooden satellite to demonstrate that wood is a space-grade material in order to fulfill their 50-year goal to grow trees and construct timber buildings on the moon and Mars.

“Aircraft in the early 1900s were constructed from wood,” said Koji Murata, a professor of forest science at Kyoto University. “A wooden satellite should be feasible, too.”

According to Murata, wood will not rot or become inflamed in space because there is no oxygen or water to do so.

The researchers also claim that a wooden satellite reduces the environmental impact at the end of its life.
Reentering the atmosphere is necessary for decommissioned spacecraft to prevent becoming space trash. Wooden satellites simply burn up with less pollution than conventional metal ones, which produce aluminum oxide particles after re-entry, according to Doi.

“Metal satellites might be banned in the future,” stated Doi. “If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.”

Industrial Application

After a 10-month experiment aboard the International Space Station, the researchers concluded that honoki, a type of magnolia tree endemic to Japan and usually used for sword sheaths, is most suitable for spaceships.

Without the use of glue or screws, LignoSat is constructed from honoki, a traditional Japanese craft.

When LignoSat is launched, it will remain in orbit for six months. The electronic components on board will measure how well wood withstands the challenging environment of space, where temperatures change every 45 minutes from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius as it circles from darkness to sunlight.

According to Kenji Kariya, a manager at Sumitomo Forestry Tsukuba Research Institute, LignoSat will also measure how well wood mitigates the effects of space radiation on semiconductors, making it a valuable material for applications like data center building.

“It may seem outdated, but wood is actually cutting-edge technology as civilisation heads to the moon and Mars,” he stated. “Expansion to space could invigorate the timber industry.”

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