Takao Doi’s dream is to go to the Moon and plant a tree. The former astronaut is inspired by ancient wooden shrines and temples in Kyoto, Japan, that have lasted more than a thousand years.
“If we can use wood in space, we might be able to have sustainable space development forever,” said Doi, a professor at Ryukoku University.
The idea of a wooden space age gained traction last year with the launch of LignoSat, the world’s first wooden satellite to reach orbit. LignoSat, developed by Doi, a group of Kyoto University scientists, and logging company Sumitomo Forestry, is a CubeSat—a type of minisatellite that is relatively inexpensive and easy to construct. LignoSat’s structure is meant to reduce its environmental impact because wood is a renewable material and creates less pollution when it burns up on reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
LignoSat was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) last year by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and stayed in space for 116 days.