Arab Weather - Today, Tuesday, the world's first wooden satellite, developed by Japanese researchers, was launched into space in an experiment aimed at exploring the use of wood in space travel, with future plans to reach the moon and Mars.
Developed by a team from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, the Legnosat satellite will be carried to the International Space Station on a SpaceX rocket. It will then be placed into an orbit about 400 kilometers above Earth. The name Legnosat comes from the Latin word for “wood,” and it is about the size of the palm of a hand.
Lignosat aims to explore the potential of renewable materials such as wood for use in space, as researchers emphasize the importance of using sustainable materials to achieve sustainability in space. Takao Doi, an astronaut and professor of human space science at Kyoto University, said that using wood could help build sustainable space settlements, adding:
“Using wood, we can build homes, live and work in space for generations to come.”
The Japanese team, led by Doi, has a vision for a 50-year plan to plant trees and build wooden houses on the moon and Mars. To prove the viability of wood in space, LignoSat has been certified by NASA.
Koji Murata, a professor of forestry at Kyoto University, said that wood is a suitable material for use in space because it does not rot or burn in the absence of water and oxygen there. He pointed out that airplanes were made of wood in the early 20th century, and therefore satellites could be made of wood as well.
Wooden satellites could help reduce space pollution, the researchers said, because they don’t produce aluminum oxide particles when they re-enter the atmosphere, unlike metal satellites. The success of the wooden satellite could be a step toward future restrictions on metal satellites, Doi said. “If we can prove the wooden satellite is effective, we plan to demonstrate it to SpaceX,” he added.
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