The world's first wooden satellite, LignoSat, was launched by Japanese scientists from NASA's Kennedy Space Center earlier this month.

Developed by Kyoto University in collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry, LignoSat serves as a trial for using wood in lunar and Mars missions.

Constructed from honoki wood, a type of magnolia native to Japan, the satellite was selected after extensive experiments conducted on the International Space Station.

LignoSat, which translates to 'wood' in Latin, is compact enough to fit in a person's hand and aims to showcase the viability of wood as a sustainable building material in space.

Wood is considered more environmentally friendly than traditional satellite materials like aluminum and carbon fiber, as it can be incinerated without releasing harmful pollutants upon re-entry.

The material has demonstrated resilience against extreme temperature fluctuations in space, ranging from -148°F to 212°F, making it suitable for space applications.

A manager from Sumitomo Forestry emphasized that while wood may seem outdated, it represents cutting-edge technology as humanity prepares for expansion to the Moon and Mars.

Japanese astronaut Takao Doi highlighted wood's potential to facilitate permanent living and working environments in space.

Launched aboard a SpaceX rocket, LignoSat will orbit the Earth for six months at an altitude of about 250 miles to test its endurance in outer space conditions.

In addition to its primary objectives, LignoSat will investigate wood's ability to mitigate cosmic radiation effects on semiconductors, suggesting potential applications in data centers.

If LignoSat's mission proves successful, the long-term vision includes constructing wooden habitats and planting trees on Mars and the Moon over the next 50 years.

Koji Murata, a professor at Kyoto University, noted that wood is more resilient in space due to the absence of water and oxygen compared to Earth.