Junk, by definition, is to be discarded. But in space, junk can also become a fatal threat.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is currently tracking more than than 500,000 pieces of debris, or “space junk," orbiting the Earth at dangerous speeds. Some of those are from now-defunct satellites, either abandoned in space or broken off upon return.
"We are very concerned with the fact that all the satellites which re-enter the Earth's atmosphere burn and create tiny alumina particles which will float in the upper atmosphere for many years," Takao Doi, Japanese astronaut - the first to throw a boomerang in space - and a professor at Kyoto University, told the BBC. "Eventually it will affect the environment of the Earth."
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.
So the university is partnering with a Japanese company to test a potential solution: wooden spaceships. Wooden satellites would burn up in space, which is both the point and also the problem.
So how will it work? Sumimoto Forestry told BBC that they are developing wooden materials that are resistant to temperature changes and sunlight, testing them in some of earth’s harshest environments. What kind of wood they’re using is an "R&D secret," or research and development secret, a spokesperson told BBC.
"The next stage will be developing the engineering model of the satellite, then we will manufacture the flight model," Doi told BBC.
The company, which is part of the Sumimoto Group, has been recognized by the CDP for its work in regards to climate change and is working towards using 100 percent renewable energy for its operations by 2040.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE RIGHT NOW
WILL GLOBAL COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS HELP THE CLIMATE CHANGE CRISIS?
MOST STATES ARE BELOW THEIR GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION GOALS: REPORT
THESE ARE THE 10 COUNTRIES MOST AT RISK FROM THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
THE 10 COUNTRIES MOST LIKELY TO SURVIVE THE IMMINENT THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
FIRST CLIMATE WARNINGS ON GAS PUMPS TO APPEAR IN US
"wood" - Google News
December 30, 2020 at 03:23AM
https://ift.tt/3rwYqrk
Japan is creating satellites made out of wood to cut down on space junk | TheHill - The Hill
"wood" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3du6D7I
No comments:
Post a Comment