Japan to launch wood-based satellite by 2023

NEW DELHI-  A  team of Japanese firm Sumitomo Forestry and researchers from the Kyoto University of Japan, are working  on a wooden satellite, reported BBC. While the entire plan is in a nascent stage, the project aims at tackling the increasing threat of space debris or junks. Sumitomo Forestry is currently working on testing the use of wood materials in space and soon they will be experimenting with wood in extreme locations on Earth. Going ahead with their research, the two teams plan to launch the world’s first satellite made out of wood in 2023.

The report says that wooden satellites were a better alternative to the existing ones as these would burn up after entering the atmosphere without releasing any harmful substances. No waste will be created and the risk of space junk falling back on Earth can be lessened.

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Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University and Japanese astronaut, was quoted by BBC to state that all the satellites that re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at present “burn and create tiny alumina particles which will float in the upper atmosphere for many years”. This can prove to be harmful in the long run, something they aspire to prevent by using wood as their material.