Wooden Satellite Takes a Trip to Space

A tiny box made of magnolia wood floating in space. This isn't a fantasy; it's a real experiment! Researchers from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry have sent a wooden satellite called LignoSat to the International Space Station (ISS). In about a month, it will be released into space to test how wood handles the extreme conditions. This could open doors to using sustainable materials in space construction. You might think wood can't survive space, but it just might! Earlier this year, the same team exposed three types of wood to space for 10 months. Guess what? It did just fine, with magnolia wood being the toughest. This led to LignoSat's creation. It's about the size of a small cereal box and weighs a little over 2 pounds.LignoSat will spend six months in low Earth orbit, with onboard tools checking how the magnolia wood holds up. The idea is to find a cheap way to build satellites that won't add to space junk. Metal satellites can break into pieces or release harmful stuff when they burn up in the atmosphere. Wood, on the other hand, burns completely. Plus, it doesn't block electromagnetic waves, so antennas can be inside the wooden body. This isn't just about satellites. The researchers think wood could be used to build structures on the Moon and Mars. Let's see how this wooden satellite fares in its first six months in space!