Japanese researchers have just sent the The world's first wooden satellite. to space, as reported by cnn. LignoSat, named after the Latin word for wood, was developed by Kyoto University and a company called Sumitomo Forestry. It was included in a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station (ISS) and will soon be launched into orbit above Earth.
Why do this? There are two main reasons. Firstly, it will be a test of the durability of the wood against the harsh conditions of space. If they are successful, the researchers plan to make more wooden structures and launch them into the cosmos.
“With wood, a material we can produce ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever,” said Takao Doi, an astronaut affiliated with Kyoto University. This is the first step of a 50-year plan that includes planting trees and building real wooden houses on the Moon and even Mars.
“Airplanes in the early 20th century were made of wood,” said Koji Murata, a professor of forestry sciences at Kyoto University. “A wooden satellite should also be viable.”
For those who balk at the idea of using wood structures in space, consider some of the benefits. In reality, the material should be more durable in space than on Earth because, well, the endless vacuum has no water or oxygen. There is nothing that can rot it and it is very difficult for it to catch fire. It even offers pretty decent radiation protection.
The other reason has to do with all those other satellites in orbit. Currently, the planet is surrounded by more than 3,000 satellites, not to mention all kinds of associated space debris. The wooden satellites would eventually fall back to Earth and burn up during re-entry.
Metal satellites will (mostly) burn up during the return trip, but not before creating harmful aluminum oxide particles. We don't really have a plan for the increasing amount of space junk burying the planet, so this might help. Doi imagines a scenario in which “metallic satellites could be banned in the future.” In any case, having a log cabin on the moon would be a great time. There are literally an Apple TV+ show and more about that.
