By Justine Calma , a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hel

The first wooden satellite launched into space

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2024-11-05 15:00:35

By Justine Calma , a senior science reporter covering energy and the environment with more than a decade of experience. She is also the host of Hell or High Water: When Disaster Hits Home, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals.

In a first for the world, scientists launched a satellite made from wood into space. As it orbits the planet from some 250 miles away, researchers will study whether wood is sturdy enough for space.

Called LignoSat, after the Latin word for wood, the satellite launched Monday night aboard a SpaceX mission bound for the International Space Station. It’ll eventually be released into orbit, where instruments will measure how the wood fares under the harsh conditions of space over six months.

“With timber, a material we can produce by ourselves, we will be able to build houses, live and work in space forever,” Takao Doi, an astronaut and professor at Kyoto University, told Reuters.

Kyoto University researchers and timber company Sumitomo Forestry started working together on the space wood project in 2020. They conducted space exposure tests from the International Space Station over more than 240 days in 2022. They settled on using Hoonoki, a type of Magnolia wood, for its “high workability, dimensional stability, and overall strength.” The wood is often used to make traditional sword sheaths in Japan because it’s resistant to shattering, Reuters reports.