The first wooden satellite in history has been constructed by a team of Japanese academics.
The team will launch the satellite later this year to evaluate its performance in Earth orbit.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will receive the satellite next week.
The 10-centimeter-square cube satellite named LignoSat, which is made of magnolia wood, is scheduled to launch in September.
The newly developed satellite will be sent into orbit by the rocket and arrive at the International Space Station (ISS) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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Wooden satellites offer a greener alternative because satellite deployments are probably going to increase. The success of LignoSat in Japan should encourage studies on wooden satellite payloads and observational uses.
Upon analyzing the three distinct varieties of wood aboard the International Space Station, reports state that the scientists determined that magnolia wood is the most resilient type because of its general strength. For this reason, it was selected as the building material for LignoSat.
The LignoSat team is also thinking long-term, hoping to incorporate wood into building more structures in space. “Expanding the potential of wood as a sustainable resource is significant,” Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University and astronaut, said during a press conference on Wednesday. “We aim to build human habitats using wood in space, such as on the Moon and Mars, in the future.”
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