With help from SpaceX, researchers launched the first wooden satellite into space

Although it may seem strange, the world’s first wooden satellite was launched into space by SpaceX this Tuesday (05). The satellite, called LignoSat, has been tested for several months on the International Space Station (ISS) and will be an experiment for researchers to understand how this material behaves in harsh environments such as space.

Developed by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan and built by Sumitomo Forestry, LignoSat is a wooden block with several screws that fits in the palm of your hand. The type of wood used is Honoki, also known as Japanese cypress, which is native to countries such as Taiwan and the southern region of Japan.

According to the developers, this wood was tested for 10 months on the ISS and the material was found to be one of the most recommended for use in space. In addition to analyzing the behavior of radiation in the material, the construction of the satellite also aims to understand how wood will respond at temperatures between -100 and 100 °C.

Compared to traditional satellites made of metal, wood should last longer since there is no oxygen or moisture in space to cause decay.

Another important point is that while metal can accumulate oxide particles when returned to the atmosphere during the recycling process, wood cannot.

sustainable mission

In addition to all the practical benefits of launching a wooden satellite into space, researchers reveal that it could be humanity’s next big step towards exploring and colonizing other planets.

“We will be able to build houses with wood, a material that we can produce ourselves, and we will be able to live and work in space forever,” says Takao Doi, former astronaut and professor at Kyoto University. The researcher and his team also have a mission to plant trees on the Moon and Mars in the next 50 years.

The discussion about LignoSat also has a sustainable footprint; because wood is one of the few materials that can be considered renewable at the industrial level if it has the appropriate licenses and certificates.

LignoSat will be detached from the International Space Station and launched into orbit approximately 400 km above the Earth.