(FREE) UPSC Current Affairs 2024 PDF

(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) The World’s First Wooden Satellite

(DECEMBER-2024)

The World’s First Wooden Satellite

The world’s first wooden satellite, built by Japanese researchers, was launched into space, in an early test of using timber in lunar and Mars exploration.

Key Details

Made by researchers at Kyoto University, Japan, the tiny satellite weighing nearly 900g recently headed for the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission. It will then be released into orbit above the Earth.
Named LignoSat, after the Latin word for wood, its panels have been built from a type of magnolia tree, using a traditional technique without screws or glue.
Along with its wood panels, LignoSat also incorporates traditional aluminium structures and electronic components.
It has sensors on board to monitor how its wood reacts to the extreme environment of space during the six months it will orbit the Earth.

Significance: A renewable solution for a long-term problem

Conventional satellites, made primarily of aluminium, tend to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their lives and generate aluminium oxides.
These gases can damage the planet’s protective ozone layer.
Add to this the concerns about the growing orbital population, including artificial mega-constellations like SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network, which currently houses 6,500 active satellites.
This is where LignoSat may have an advantage. By substituting magnolia for aluminium, the satellite wouldn’t introduce damaging pollutants into the atmosphere when it falls back to Earth.
This investigation demonstrates that a wooden satellite can be more sustainable and less polluting for the environment than conventional satellites.