When you think of a satellite, you usually think of a metal box with electronic components inside. But that’s simply because most satellites throughout history have been made that way. There is nothing wrong with using other materials to build satellites.
Now a team of researchers from Japan has completed tests on another type of material that could eventually be used on a real satellite: magnolia wood.
The project, known as LignoSat, is based on the simple idea that wood can be used as a housing material. In some respects it is superior to metal for space applications due to its flexibility, strength and relative lightness.
Another problem it is trying to alleviate is a specific problem with metal housings for satellites. When a typical satellite reenters the atmosphere and begins to burn up, parts of its shell, usually aluminum, can flake off its main body and become trapped in its own orbit without completely burning up in the atmosphere.
These orbital chips could contribute to the ever-growing problem of space debris and could be eliminated by using a different type of material for a satellite’s housing, such as wood.
However, no one had tested how wood would fare in such an unforgiving environment as the vacuum of space. Since it was once part of a living thing, chances are there are some negative consequences.
So the LignoSat researchers did what good researchers do: they launched an experiment to the ISS.
Last year, several pieces of test wood lay outside the Kibo Experimental Module on the ISS for 290 days. It returned to Earth during the return of the CRS-26 resupply mission in January.
After the samples returned to Earth, LignoSat researchers from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, part of a large Japanese conglomerate, subjected them to a barrage of materials testing.
Despite being constantly exposed to radiation for more than half a year, there appeared to be no significant deformation, flaking or surface damage on any of the samples.
Also, there was no substantial change in the mass of the samples, demonstrating that they can provide long-term protection for the guts of satellites that harbor them.
One particular wood sample stood out, but that was more due to its inherent properties than any particular outperformance in the space tests.
![Wood samples packed in a metal container.](https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2023/05/WoodSamplesEncasedInMetal.jpg)
The wood the team selected was magnolia, which is relatively flexible yet provides plenty of support.
Also known as Hoonoki in Japanese, it is the type of wood that will form the housing for LignoSat when it launches on a joint NASA/JAXA mission in 2024.
In the meantime, the researchers are continuing to study the samples returned from the ISS, including looking with more powerful instruments for any degradation that may have occurred at the nano level. That could be particularly interesting given its impact on selecting the right wood for particular applications here on Earth.
Either way, this is just the first step in what could potentially be a groundbreaking material journey for the future of small satellites.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.