Wood “in the sky with diamonds”…literally!

If someone had told us this 20 years ago, we would never have believed it. Instead, today, in 2023, wood will reach the stars. Kyoto University, in fact, has almost completed the creation of a wooden satellite to be sent into space. A project developed in close collaboration with Sumitomo Forestry Co. and Kuroda Kobo, a woodworking laboratory in Otsu, specialising in the restoration of cultural heritage of national interest, which aims to eliminate the metal particles produced upon re-entry into the atmosphere, thus reducing the impact on the environment.
The body of the satellite, made using traditional Japanese carpentry techniques, will consist of a 10-square-centimetre cube of Japanese magnolia wood.