A tiny satellite called LignoSat has finally been released into space.
Built by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, the timber-clad device was sent to International Space Station last November. Now, NASA says that the satellite has been released into the wild in an experiment that will explore the viability of using wood in space - offering a more sustainable alternative to traditional metal components.
It's a meticulously crafted device that uses no screws, nails, or glue. Instead, using a Japanese woodworking technique called sashimono, the wooden components are held together by an intricate marrying of complex joints, fashioned and assembled by master carpenters in Kyoto, says The New York Times.
The wood's source was also carefully chosen after a nearly year-long experiment aboard the ISS. In 2020, a team of Japanese researchers tested the durability of three different types of wood in space: Erman’s birch, Japanese cherry and magnolia bovate. Last year, the samples went through exposure tests for 42 weeks on the ISS before they were returned to Earth for analysis. Based on their tests, the team determined that magnolia wood - or Hoonoki in Japanese - would be the best material for a satellite. (Fun fact: honoki was historically used to craft samurai sword sheaths.)
"Nobody had ever thought about using wood for rocket science before," Koji Murata, a forest science professor at Kyoto University told the NYT. "Many engineers thought wood was old technology and couldn't be applied to cutting-edge technology."
Now that it's been deployed, the plan is for LignoSat to stay in orbit for six months. Onboard sensors will monitor how the wood weathers the conditions of space, including its extremely cold temperatures, and how well the material shields its electronic components from ever present radiation, emitted by the Sun and from deep space.