JAPAN is planning to launch the world's first "wooden" satellite in 2023, as its development team aims to harness the environmental friendliness and low cost of wood in space related development.
According to the team comprising members from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Co, a satellite with a wood exterior will burn up upon re-entering the Earth's atmosphere after the end of its operation.
According to a Kyodo News report, they said this will have less impact on the environment, while at the same time being cheaper to make than using aluminum, currently the most used material for a satellite.
As electromagnetic waves and the Earth's magnetism can pass through wood, an antenna and an attitude control system can also be placed inside the wooden satellite and the satellite structure will be simplified.
The planned satellite will be a cube with 10 cm sides and its outer part will be covered in wood and solar cells.
It will also be able to hold electronic items inside.
The state-run university in western Japan and the Tokyo-based wood products company are now set to test the durability of wood in space, possibly from February.
They will use an extravehicular experimental apparatus of the International Space Station for the test.
The team, led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takao Doi, plans to attach on the apparatus, wooden sheets with varying hardness that have been taken from several tree species.
In the experiment, a panel with three wood samples -- Japanese bigleaf magnolia, mountain cherry tree and gold birch – will be used to see the effects of space on them.
The wooden sheets will remain exposed to outer space for about nine months to check on their deterioration as the strength of various materials degrades in space due to radiation.
At the space station's orbiting altitude of around 400 km high, atomic oxygen is generated when the sun's ultraviolet rays decompose oxygen molecules.
It is believed that the surface of the wood will be chipped away as carbon is removed from the material.
Doi, a programme-specific professor at Kyoto University, said if the plan succeeds, it will lead the way to "allowing even children who are interested in space, to make a satellite."
Doi became the first Japanese astronaut to take part in extravehicular activities when he boarded the Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997.