Scientists from Kyoto University, Japan, together with Sumitomo Forestry, have created a unique wooden satellite LignoSat, which was successfully launched into space on board a SpaceX launch vehicle. This is the world’s first wooden satellite, which should show how wood behaves in space and whether it can be used during missions to the Moon and Mars, writes CNN.
The wooden satellite LignoSat is a cube with an edge length of only 10 cm. It will be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS), and then launched to circle the Earth at an altitude of 400 km in about a month, reports Focus. Scientists want to test the strength and durability of the satellite made of wood.
The LignoSat satellite was created from magnolia wood, which, as research on the ISS showed, is well suited for creating spacecraft.
Once deployed, LignoSat will remain in orbit for six months, and instruments placed inside will measure how well wood withstands temperature changes in space, which can vary from minus 100 to plus 100 degrees Celsius. LignoSat instruments will also evaluate the ability of wood to reduce the impact of space radiation on semiconductors.
Japanese scientists created the LignoSat satellite in order to prove that wood is a space material and can be used not only for the manufacture of near-Earth satellites, but also for devices for exploring the Moon and Mars, as well as for construction on other worlds.
Another important goal pursued by Japanese scientists is to prove that wooden satellites are a good replacement for conventional metal satellites. After the latter burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their service life, they leave behind a lot of pollutants. And this has a negative impact on the environment. Wooden satellites burn up and do not leave behind many pollutants, scientists say.
Wooden satellites should replace metal satellites, Japanese scientists say. If the project is successful, scientists hope to begin mass production of such devices.