NASA and JAXA Plan to Launch World’s First Wooden Satellite in 2024

Liputan6.com, Washington – NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plan to launch the world’s first wooden satellite into space in an effort to make space flights more sustainable or environmentally friendly.

According to the NASA space agency, LignoSat, a coffee cup-sized satellite made of magnolia wood, will be launched into Earth orbit in the summer of 2024.

The nature of wood that does not burn or rot in a vacuum makes it a very useful and biodegradable raw material for future satellites. What’s more, the wood will turn into fine ash when it re-enters the earth’s atmosphere.

After successfully testing their wood samples on the International Space Station (ISS) earlier this year, scientists believe the test satellite is fit for launch.

“Three wood specimens were tested and showed no deformation after exposure to outer space,” the researchers said, as reported on the page Live ScienceSunday (19/11/2023).

“Despite the extreme space environment involving significant temperature changes and exposure to intense cosmic rays and harmful solar particles over ten months, testing confirmed no decomposition or deformation, such as cracking, warping, peeling, or surface damage.”

To decide which wood to use, scientists sent three wood samples – magnolia, cherry or birch – to the ISS for storage in a module exposed to space. But later, researchers chose magnolia because it was less likely to break during manufacturing.

2023-11-19 11:35:00
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