Scientists from Japan have launched a new satellite called LignoSat on Tuesday. The satellite has become the world's first wooden-made satellite. It is considered to be one of those breakthrough innovations that try out the use of wood for later missions when set to the Moon and other areas on Mars.

What is LignoSat and its mission?

LignoSat, a satellite designed by Kyoto University in partnership with house builder Sumitomo Forestry, will get to the International Space Station on a SpaceX flight and then be ejected into orbit 400 kilometers (250 miles) over Earth. The satellite takes its name from the Latin for "wood" and was intended to test the possibility of using renewable timber materials in space environments.

Astronaut Takao Doi, who has been working with the Space Shuttle for decades and now teaches human activities in space at Kyoto University, emphasized the significance of this material. "With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live, and work in space forever," Doi stated. He sees trees being planted and timber houses being built on the Moon and Mars as part of a 50-year plan.

Kyoto University forest science professor Koji Murata highlighted that early 20th-century airplanes were constructed using wood, suggesting that a wooden satellite is not only feasible but a return to historical roots in aviation design. "A wooden satellite should be feasible, too," he asserted.

For Murata, that wood can withstand space conditions better than it does on Earth because the absence of water and oxygen prevents rotting or combustion.

Environmental benefits of wooden satellites

Traditionally, the metallic constitution of satellites creates pollution while re-entering Earth's atmosphere, producing aluminum oxide particles. While a wooden satellite would incinerate without contributing to space debris or harmful emissions. Doi says "Metal satellites might be banned in the future. If we can prove our first wooden satellite works, we want to pitch it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX."

After a 10-month experiment aboard the International Space Station, researchers determined that honoki, a magnolia tree species native to Japan and commonly used for sword sheaths, is ideally suited for space applications. LignoSat is prepared according to traditional Japanese techniques without using screws or glue.

Once it has been launched into space, it will orbit around the Earth for six months. The electronic contents of that structure will monitor how wood performs within those harsh conditions in space where temperatures oscillate between -100 and 100 degrees Celsius (-148 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit) every 45 minutes due to the orbit around the Sun.

LignoSat will also assess wood's potential to protect semiconductors against space radiation, which may have an impact on building data centers, according to Kenji Kariya of Sumitomo Forestry Tsukuba Research Institute. "It may seem outdated, but wood is cutting-edge technology as civilization heads to the Moon and Mars," he stated, adding that the expansion into space could rejuvenate the timber industry.

As humans venture into space, LignoSat stands as a crucial stepping stone for sustainable resources on Earth and beyond. The LignoSat shows the enormous innovative potential of wood for exploration in space.