New Delhi:
The world’s first wooden satellite LignoSat was among the five CubeSats deployed into the Earth’s orbit last month, 400 km above the planet. The satellite arrived at the International Space Station in November last year aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule.
Unique And Sustainable
The satellite, developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, is made from 10 cm long honoki magnolia wood panels and assembled with a Japanese wood-joinery method which omits the use of screws or glue. It weighs 900 grams.
It’s six months in orbit will investigate the use of wood in space, with the findings giving possible clarity on the sustainable alternative as opposed to the conventional satellites. A conventional satellite uses materials like aluminium, titanium, teflon and thermoplastics, among others.
LignoSat’s Success To Transform Space Exploration
Sensors on board LignoSat will evaluate the strain on wood and its responses to temperature and radiation, when the mercury fluctuates from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes as it orbits from darkness to sunlight. The satellite’s ability to shield the equipment’s technological capabilities from geomagnetic field will also be observed. The satellite space journey will test its feasibility for lunar and Mars exploration.
“With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever,” Takao Doi, an astronaut who has flown on the Space Shuttle and studies human space activities at Kyoto University, told Reuters.
Wood is more durable in space than on Earth because there’s no water or oxygen that would rot or inflame it, Kyoto University forest science professor Koji Murata added. A wooden satellite also minimises the environmental impact at the end of its life, the researchers say.
Solution For Space Debris Problem
Amid rising concerns over space debris, wooden satellites would be a more feasible solution as they would re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and burn up. Conventional satellites, on the other hand, create aluminium oxide particles during re-entry which persist in the upper atmosphere for years.
