♦ Japan launched the world’s first wooden satellite - LignoSat into space on 5 November 2024 to understand the feasibility of timber in space. It will be flown to the International Space Station on a SpaceX mission, and later released into orbit about 400 km (250 miles) above the Earth. 

♦ LignoSat was jointly developed by Kyoto University and homebuilder Sumitomo Forestry. It is made of honoki, a kind of magnolia tree that was traditionally used to make sword sheaths. 

♦ LignoSat is a 4 inches cube-sized satellite that weighs around 2 pounds, prepared with japanese techniques. 

♦ The satellite will measure how wood endures the extreme environment of space, where temperatures fluctuate from -100 to 100 degrees Celsius every 45 minutes as objects orbit through darkness and sunlight.

♦ It will also gauge timber’s ability to reduce the impact of space radiation on semiconductors.