{"id":14925,"date":"2024-11-05T14:49:34","date_gmt":"2024-11-05T04:49:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=14925"},"modified":"2024-11-05T19:02:22","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T09:02:22","slug":"nasa-launches-worlds-first-wooden-satellite-into-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/nasa-launches-worlds-first-wooden-satellite-into-space\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Launches World’s First Wooden Satellite into Space"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The world\u2019s first wooden satellite was launched into space today, an early test of the use of timber in lunar and Mars exploration. This move paves the way for future SpaceX satellites to be made from wood rather than aluminium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known as the LignoSat probe<\/a>, the world’s first biodegradable satellite was invented by Japanese scientists, who, combined with Japanese forest giant PEFC-certified Sumitomo Forestry, discovered that magnolia wood is the ideal alternative to earth-polluting metals used in satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Named after the Latin word for \u201cwood,\u201d the palm-sized LignoSat is tasked with demonstrating the cosmic potential of renewable material as humans explore living in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever,\u201d said Takao Doi, an astronaut who has flown on the Space Shuttle and studies human space activities at Kyoto University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Takao
Takao Doi holds an engineering model of LignoSat during an interview with Reuters at his laboratory at Kyoto University in Kyoto\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

And with a 50-year plan to plant trees and build timber houses on the moon and Mars, Doi\u2019s team decided to develop a NASA-certified wooden satellite to prove wood is a space-grade material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEarly 1900s aeroplanes were made of wood,\u201d said Kyoto University forest science professor Koji Murata. \u201cA wooden satellite should be feasible, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMetal satellites might be banned in the future,\u201d Professor Doi said. \u201cIf we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research proves beyond doubt that exposed wood can survive in space.<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Already, the material has been tested at the International Space Station, with Wood Central reporting in May<\/em><\/a> that <\/em>an international team of scientists led by Kyoto University in Japan<\/em><\/a> proved beyond doubt<\/em> that exposed wood showed negligible deterioration and maintained stability in space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The push to use biodegradable materials in satellites comes as the global space industry looks for cleaner, greener and more sustainable materials amid a purge of space waste that is now littering the earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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