The world’s first wooden satellite is smaller than a coffee mug, know what it will do 400KM above the earth?

Science News Desk – US space agency NASA and Japan’s space agency JAXA have launched the world’s first wooden satellite into space. According to the report of NDTV, this satellite named Lignosat has been sent to the Space Station (ISS), which is 400 kilometers above the earth. Astronauts want to see how wood can be used for space missions to Mars and the Moon. Lignosat has been sent for this purpose. According to the information, the size of Lignoset is equal to a coffee mug. Magnolia wood has been used in making it.

Why was magnolia wood chosen?
The magnolia wood from which space agencies have made the satellite was first tested on the International Space Station. Scientists had tested three types of wood. All of them were successful in space, that is, there was no breakage in them. However, scientists decided to use magnolia wood because it is less likely to break when making satellites. After reaching the space station, LignoSat will be deployed in orbit for 6 months. It is fitted with electronic equipment that will measure how the wood withstands the extreme environment of space.

The temperature on the space station fluctuates from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes as it orbits from darkness to sunlight. According to the report, Kenji Kariya, manager of Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry Tsukuba Research Institute, had said that Lignosat will also assess the ability of wood to reduce the effects of space radiation on semiconductors.

There are other purposes too
By sending Lignosat into space, scientists want to know how effective wooden satellites can be. Space agencies around the world have sent thousands of satellites into space in the last 50 years. These have completed their life span and are floating as junk or debris. This is posing a threat to other satellites. Wooden satellites can solve these problems.