New Delhi:
The world’s first wooden satellite, LignoSat, was among five CubeSats deployed into Earth’s orbit last month, positioned 400 km above the planet. The satellite reached the International Space Station (ISS) in November last year aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule.
A Unique and Sustainable Approach
Developed by Kyoto University in collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry, LignoSat is crafted from 10 cm-long honoki magnolia wood panels, assembled using a Japanese wood-joinery technique that eliminates screws and glue. Weighing just 900 grams, the satellite showcases an innovative and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional satellite materials such as aluminum, titanium, and thermoplastics.
Over its six-month mission in orbit, LignoSat will study the viability of wood as a sustainable material in space exploration.
Pioneering a New Era of Space Exploration
Equipped with sensors, LignoSat will monitor how its wooden panels respond to extreme temperatures and radiation, as the satellite cycles through -100°C to 100°C every 45 minutes while transitioning between darkness and sunlight. It will also evaluate the material’s capacity to shield onboard equipment from geomagnetic fields.
The findings could open doors to the use of wood for future lunar and Mars exploration, offering a lighter and more sustainable alternative to conventional satellite materials.
“With timber, a material we can produce ourselves, we could build houses, live, and work in space indefinitely,” said Takao Doi, a former astronaut who flew on the Space Shuttle and now studies human space activities at Kyoto University, in an interview with Reuters.
Wood performs better in space than on Earth, according to Koji Murata, a forest science professor at Kyoto University. “There’s no water or oxygen in space to rot or ignite it,” Murata explained. Additionally, the researchers highlighted that a wooden satellite minimizes environmental impact at the end of its life.
A Solution to Space Debris
Amid growing concerns about space debris, wooden satellites present a sustainable alternative. Unlike conventional satellites, which produce aluminum oxide particles during atmospheric re-entry that linger for years, wooden satellites would completely burn up upon re-entry, leaving no harmful residue.
