NASA And JAXA Will Launch The World's First Wood Satellite Next Year

NASA and JAXA will launch Lignosat, the world's first wooden satellite (photo: Kyoto University)

JAKARTA - The American Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the Japan Space Exploration Agency (JAXA) will launch LignoSat, the world's first magnoly wooden satellite.

From Space's report, testing for the Lignosat program went quite well so NASA and JAXA plan to launch this coffee cup-sized satellite to the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in the summer of 2024.

In fact, these two space agencies did not directly test LignosSat. They used three wood specimens and saw their progress through the International Space Station (ISS).

As a result, these three wood did not catch fire, rot, or deformation even though they were left to float in space. These wood will only be destroyed when they return to Earth's atmosphere like any other extraterrestrial object.

Even though extreme space environments involve significant temperature changes and exposure to intense cosmic rays and dangerous solar particles for 10 months, testing ensures there is no decomposition or deformation, such as recoil, curling, peeling, or surface damage (on wood), "explained the researchers of the LignoSat program some time ago.

If NASA and JAXA succeed in using wood in their first small satellite, the space sector may experience changes in the future. The reason is, wood can be a smart solution to solve the problem of waste in space.

Currently, almost 10,000 tons of objects orbiting the earth. Some of these objects that are used as garbage are satellites that are no longer operating or chunks of damaged rockets.

Using wood, satellites can be biodegradable so space agencies may have other ways to get rid of their satellites that are no longer suitable for use.