Wood is extra sturdy in area than on Earth as a result of there is no such thing as a water or oxygen that might rot or ignite it, Murata added.
According to researchers, a wood satellite tv for pc additionally minimizes environmental affect on the finish of its life.
Decommissioned satellites should reenter the ambiance to keep away from turning into area particles. Conventional metallic satellites create aluminum oxide particles throughout reentry, however wood ones would merely burn with much less air pollution, Doi mentioned.
“Metal satellites could also be banned sooner or later,” Doi mentioned. “If we will show that our first wood satellite tv for pc works, we need to current it to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.”
INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION
Researchers have discovered that honoki, a species of magnolia tree native to Japan and historically used for sword sheaths, is healthier fitted to spacecraft, after a 10-month experiment aboard the International Space Station.
LignoSat is manufactured from honoki, in response to a conventional Japanese artisan method, with out screws or glue.
Once launched, LignoSat will stay in orbit for six months, with onboard electronics measuring the resistance of wooden to the acute setting of area, the place temperatures fluctuate from -100 to 100 levels Celsius each 45 minutes because it orbits from darkness within the daylight.
LignoSat may also consider wooden’s skill to cut back the affect of area radiation on semiconductors, making it helpful for functions corresponding to constructing information facilities, mentioned Kenji Kariya, supervisor of the Sumitomo Forestry Tsukuba Research Institute.
“It could appear outdated, however wooden is definitely cutting-edge expertise as civilization heads towards the Moon and Mars,” he mentioned. “Expansion into area may reinvigorate the lumber business.”
