It is estimated that there is a 10% chance that a piece of space debris hit a person in the next decade. This is a truly alarming number. Especially since in recent years several cases have been reported of the remains of rockets, satellites or even battery trays falling to Earth, destroying buildings or crops and causing real fear among people who saw them fall. For this reason, a group of Japanese scientists believes that urgently change materials objects sent into space. For now they want to test it on a wooden satellite.
It’s a little cubic thing 10 cm facesmade in magnolia treewho will go to International Space Station next September on board a rocket SpaceX.
Once there, it will be released into space to test its resistance against extreme conditions for example, sudden changes in temperature. If it proves durable enough, this wooden satellite could be the first of many. And thanks to the material from which it is made, many problems will be avoided in the future.
Wooden satellite to avoid unwanted impacts
This wooden satellite, called LignoSat, was created by scientists from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry. The choice of material may seem inappropriate. After all, metal is much stronger. But it is precisely this resistance that causes the main problems. space debris.
When satellites or any other man-made space object is sent into space, it is done with a useful lifespan in mind. Then, in a more or less controlled manner, it will likely deorbit and eventually return to Earth. When crossing the atmosphere it creates such friction that these items catch fire and break. But, since they are made of metal, there are usually parts that resist this impact and reach the earth’s surface intact. If they are too large, they can cause accidents. Even, as we have already seen, this can affect someone. There has already been a case where a meteorite hit a person, in particular a woman named Ann Hodges. A piece of space junk could do it too, especially as they accumulate.
Therefore, a wooden satellite would be an ideal solution, since this material will completely burn up when crossing the atmosphere.
What will the tests consist of?
It is logical that when leaving our atmosphere, the wooden satellite could also burn up. So he must climb aboard a metal rocket. In this case, one from SpaceX was chosen. This is a company that contributes a lot to space debris with its satellites, but at the same time tries to completely compensate for it with rockets. reusablewhich are landed on Earth in a controlled manner for future reuse.
Although this is not yet fully developed, it could be key in the future. Recyclable vehicles and payload of wood.
Therefore, when the wooden satellite reaches Japanese experimental module From the International Space Station, astronauts will launch him completely naked to see if he can really survive the harsh conditions of space. If this happens, in the future we could see even more satellites of this material leaving our atmosphere and, even better, turning to ash when it’s time to return home.
Source: Hiper Textual
