LignoSat, the world’s first satellite tv for pc made principally from wooden, reached the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX cargo capsule on November 5, 2024. The palm-sized satellite tv for pc, named after the Latin phrase for “wooden,” will likely be launched from the ISS into Earth’s orbit later this month. Its mission is to decide if wooden can face up to the harsh situations of area. If profitable, LignoSat may pave the best way for extra environmentally pleasant spacecraft designs.
The LignoSat Space Wood Project is a collaboration between Japan’s Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry. The researchers started by sending a small panel containing three totally different wooden samples to the ISS in 2022. The panel was uncovered to area for ten months earlier than being returned to Earth in early 2023. After analyzing the outcomes, the workforce picked wooden from magnolia timber for the satellite tv for pc.
“Nobody had ever considered utilizing wooden for rocket science earlier than,” stated Professor Koji Murata of Kyoto University. “Many engineers thought wooden was outdated know-how and could not be utilized to cutting-edge know-how.”
The major purpose for testing a picket satellite tv for pc is to cut back area junk. Current satellites are primarily made from aluminum. The metallic reacts with oxygen when the satellites dissipate in Earth’s ambiance on the finish of their life cycle. This course of releases aluminum oxide particles, probably damaging the ozone layer. Wooden satellites, which go away behind solely water and carbon dioxide, may assist alleviate this problem.
“All the satellites which re-enter the Earth’s ambiance burn and create tiny alumina particles, which is able to float within the higher ambiance for a few years,” stated Takao Doi, an aerospace engineer with Kyoto University. “Eventually, it is going to have an effect on the surroundings of the Earth.”
Researchers additionally see a future the place timber may very well be grown on the Moon and Mars. Successfully testing a picket satellite tv for pc would display that wooden can face up to harsh area situations.
“With timber, a fabric we will produce by ourselves, we will construct homes, stay and work in area eternally,” Doi stated.
LignoSat will orbit Earth for six months, gathering useful knowledge earlier than burning up within the ambiance. Murata and his workforce intention to make use of this data to design bigger and extra superior picket satellites and gadgets.
Resources: Space.com, CNN.com, Sciencefocus.com
