![LignoSat, the wooden satellite - Japan to launch first eco-friendly satellite made of wood](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2024/05/29/TELEMMGLPICT000379763019_17169772343370_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqLFvFcbCCSSPOPEZoCZQZEv4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Japan to launch first eco-friendly satellite made of wood
Small timber creation could have huge implications with possibilities for further use of the sustainable resource in space
![LignoSat, the wooden satellite - Japan to launch first eco-friendly satellite made of wood](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2024/05/29/TELEMMGLPICT000379763019_17169772343370_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqLFvFcbCCSSPOPEZoCZQZEv4Xpit_DMGvdp2n7FDd82k.jpeg?imwidth=680)
Japanese scientists have built the world’s first eco-friendly satellite made of wood and plan to launch it into space later this year.
The small, cube-shaped spacecraft is made from magnolia wood and has been assembled using traditional nail-free joinery techniques that have been used to build temples and shrines for centuries.
The timber satellite, known as LignoSat, is the result of four years of research by a team including staff from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry.
The concept is rooted in sustainability, with researchers aiming to create a satellite using wood instead of the metals and composite materials typically used in their construction.
The satellite – whose name “ligno” means wood in Esperanto – is due to be handed over to Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency next week, before being launched to the International Space Station from Florida on board a SpaceX rocket in September.
The LignoSat is a 10cm cube with magnolia panels up to 5.5mm thick wrapped around a frame partially constructed from aluminum. It also features solar panels, and the entire structure weighs just one kilogram.
Early laboratory tests explored a range of different woods in order to determine which would be best at withstanding the stresses of space launches and long-term flights, resulting in the choice of magnolia.
Koji Murata, head of the project, said: “Wood’s ability to withstand these conditions astounded us.”
Solar panels were also attached to some sides of the cube.
The satellite was described by its makers as “an extremely valuable step for both the space and the wood industries” which will help “open up the possibilities of the use of wood, which is a sustainable resource”.
“Expanding the potential of wood as a sustainable resource is significant,” Takao Doi, Kyoto University professor and astronaut, told the Japan Times. “We aim to build human habitats using wood in space, such as on the moon and Mars, in the future.”
![Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/world-news/2024/05/29/TELEMMGLPICT000379763017_17169781521920_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqrfzZskasdHxLRTTh7do0m6bavX1iIwwAJuK_zS02vLA.jpeg?imwidth=350)
The use of wood is also intended to reduce atmospheric pollution caused by a satellite burning up on re-entry at the end of its life span.
Typical satellites made of metal can release alumina particles, which can negatively impact weather and communication, according to researchers.