World's first wooden satellite launched into space
Researchers from Japan believe that timber is a space-grade material that could on day be used to build houses on Mars. Their satellite was crafted from honoki wood without screws or glue to hold it together.
The world's first wooden satellite was launched into space on Tuesday in an attempt to prove that wood is a space-grade material.
Designed by researchers at Kyoto University in Japan, LignoSat is made of honoki, a kind of magnolia tree that was traditionally used to make sword sheaths.
The team aims to plant trees on the moon and Mars in 50 years.
"With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever," said Takao Doi, an astronaut who studies human space activities at Kyoto University.
Testing wood in space
The Japanese researchers conducted a 10-month experiment aboard the International Space Station (ISS) and found that honoki was the timber most suited for space applications.
They then constructed LignoSat using a traditional Japanese crafts technique without screws or glue to hold the satellite together.
"If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk's SpaceX," Doi said.
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