The world's first wooden satellite, built by Japanese researchers, was launched into space on Tuesday, in an early test of using timber in lunar and Mars exploration.
LignoSat, developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry, will be flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission, and later released into orbit about 400 km above the Earth.
Named after the Latin word for "wood," the palm-sized LignoSat is tasked to demonstrate the cosmic potential of the renewable material as humans explore living in space.
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