Japanese scientists just launched the first wooden satellite, called LignoSat, to the International Space Station where it'll head into orbit.
Japanese scientists have spent years developing a cube-shaped satellite that swaps metal for timber, and on Monday night, it was officially launched into space,This Flying Car Just Got an Aerodynamic Makeover That Makes It Fly—and Drive—FasterThese New Retro Electric Motorcycles Are for Getting Around Town in Style
A group of researchers at Japan’s Kyoto University conceptualized LignoSat, as the cube is known, in collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry, a Japanese timber company. Their goal is to test how renewable materials such as wood hold up in space where there are extreme temperatures, harmful cosmic rays, and energetic solar particles. In addition, scientists are hopeful that the new satellite could mitigate the number of pollutants released into the atmosphere.
“Nobody had ever thought about using wood for rocket science before,” Koji Murata, a professor of forest and biomaterials science at Kyoto University who worked on the satellite, told the newspaper. “Many engineers thought wood was old technology and couldn’t be applied to cutting-edge technology.” In the early 1900s, wood was a popular building material for airplanes, so, naturally, Murata thought it would work for satellites, too.
Two Kyoto-based master carpenters created the wooden components of LignoSat, comprised of plastic and silicon parts; the duo assembled the cube using a traditional Japanese crafts technique that doesn’t require any screws or glue. Unlike metal, wood can contract when it loses moisture, so that’s one thing the scientists will be studying, along with how well the satellite can measure the Earth’s magnetic field.
Looking ahead, Murata has ambitious plans for the future, but he’s no stranger to bold claims. “I am hoping to grow wood on Mars,” he added. “I used to think it was impossible to send anything made of wood to space.” Abigail Montanez is a staff writer at Robb Report.
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