This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/space by /u/ChangeNarrow5633 on 2024-11-05 11:26:11+00:00.

The world’s first wooden satellite was launched into space today, an early test of the use of timber in lunar and Mars exploration. This move paves the way for future SpaceX satellites to be made from wood rather than aluminium.

Known as the LignoSat probe, the world’s first biodegradable satellite was invented by Japanese scientists, who, combined with Japanese forest giant PEFC-certified Sumitomo Forestry, discovered that magnolia wood is the ideal alternative to earth-polluting metals used in satellites.

Named after the Latin word for “wood,” the palm-sized LignoSat is tasked with demonstrating the cosmic potential of renewable material as humans explore living in space.

“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 has flown on the Space Shuttle and studies human space activities at Kyoto University.