Japan to launch wooden satellite into space in 2024

110
Japan to launch wooden satellite into space in 2024
A wooden satellite could be launched into space in 2024. Wood’s high durability in space was recently tested and confirmed aboard the International Space Station (ISS) by an international group led by scientists from Kyoto University.

Wood successfully passed the tests

Experiments showed that wood samples tested for durability on the ISS suffered minimal deterioration and provided good stability. Preliminary examinations, including strength tests and crystal structure analyzes, of wood samples brought to Earth from the ISS by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata were also carried out.

Despite extreme conditions in space, such as temperature changes and exposure to intense cosmic rays and dangerous solar particles for 10 months, no changes were detected in the wood samples, such as cracking, warping, peeling or surface damage, according to a statement from Kyoto University. The scientists said that reclaimed wood samples were tested and showed no deformation after exposure to space, and also did not undergo any mass changes before and after exposure to space.

The satellite will be launched in 2024 in partnership with NASA

The international research group has determined that the Magnolia tree, called “Hoonoki” in Japanese, will likely be used on the LignoSat satellite, which is scheduled to be launched jointly by NASA and Japan’s space agency JAXA in 2024. The researchers said Magnolia has relatively high machinability, dimensional stability and overall strength, making these properties ideal for the task.

“We were stunned by wood’s ability to withstand simulated low earth orbit conditions,” said Koji Murata, head of the research team, in 2021. Wood also has some advantages over the complex alloys used in spacecraft, as it is environmentally friendly, easier to manufacture, and can be better destroyed at the end of a satellite’s life.

Such wooden satellites can also be designed to burn completely on re-entry. In this way, space garbage, which is becoming an increasingly serious problem, can be prevented from posing a problem in the future.