Japan plans to send world's 1st wooden satellite into space in 2023

 If all goes well, the world's first wooden satellite may be blasted into space in 2023 as Japanese astronauts are expected to begin tests in February to check the durability of wood in space.

A joint team from state-run Kyoto University and a Tokyo-based wood products company Sumitomo Forestry Co. will be using an extravehicular experimental apparatus of the International Space Station for the tests.

Led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s astronaut Takao Doi, the plan is to “harness the environmental friendliness and low cost of wood in space development,” Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Friday.

Early this month, for the first time in the past 13 years, Japan began a recruitment campaign for astronauts as it aims to send a mission to the Moon in the latter half of the 2020s.

The exterior of the planned satellite would be made of wood and “will burn up upon re-entering the earth's atmosphere after the end of its operation, giving less burden on the environment,” the team said.

Costs of the satellite will also be cheaper against the current prices where manufacturers use aluminum.

“Because electromagnetic waves can penetrate wood, the satellite can contain an antenna inside," the team said, adding that its outer parts "will be covered in wood and solar cells, and it will hold an electronic substrate inside.”

The structure will also carry wooden sheets, of varying hardness, carved out of different tree species.

“The sheets will remain exposed to outer space for about nine months to check their deterioration,” the team explained.

Doi, the first Japanese astronaut to take part in extravehicular activities in 1997 from the Space Shuttle Columbia, noted: “If the plan succeeds, it will lead the way to allow even children who are interested in space to make a satellite.”