Japanese researchers are now turning to wood for satellites that can burn up in the atmosphere without leaving harmful residues. Together with the timber company Sumitomo Forestry, scientists from the University of Kyoto want to develop the first satellite made of wood to be launched 2023. This is reported by Nikkei Asia .

When re-entering the atmosphere, the satellite should not only burn up without leaving any harmful residues, but also simpler structures allow. Because the natural product blocks neither electromagnetic waves nor the earth’s magnetic field, technical equipment such as antennas could be relocated inside.

With wood against air pollution According to the report, the researchers first want to find out the necessary processing for wood. It is mainly about resistance to the large temperature differences and strong sunlight, they told the BBC. Which wood is used is a trade secret. Sumitomo Forestry therefore has more than 400 years of experience in handling the material.

The responsible scientist Takao Doi told the British news channel that they wanted to find ways to counteract the pollution of the atmosphere with harmful aluminum particles. These have so far been released when satellites re-enter and “at some point this will affect the environment”. The researcher was twice in space as an astronaut himself.

Your idea of ​​using wood as a building material for equipment in space is not included new: three NASA space probes from the so-called Ranger program for exploring the moon had landing capsules on board, which were wrapped in balsa wood and were supposed to hit the moon – but this was only partially successful. The hardest part for a wooden satellite isn’t getting started either. It is the extreme conditions in space, as Popular Science explained years ago, that challenge the building material. Wood contains a lot of water, which would evaporate in space and thereby destabilize the structure. In addition, wood cannot distribute the heat from sunlight as well over the entire satellite. The building material does not help against the increasingly acute problem of space junk either.

(mho)