Murata wondered if he “could build a wooden house on the moon or Mars,” and decided to test the theory — by creating a wooden satellite. Wooden satellites would be better for the planet while still providing the same functionality as their metal counterparts, says Murata. Now, they are working with Japan’s space agency (JAXA) and NASA to send the prototype satellite, called LingoSat, into orbit early next year. Engineers at Kyoto University are building a wooden satellite that will be launched into space in a joint mission with JAXA and NASA. Finnish startup Arctic Astronautics designed the WISA Woodsat, a wooden satellite that was supposed to be launched into space in 2021.

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Persons: that’s, Koji Murata, Murata, ”, It’s, Jari Mäkinen, ” Mäkinen, Yarjan Abdul Samad, Samad, Tatsuhito Fujita, Fujita Organizations: CNN, Kyoto University, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, “, JAXA, NASA, Murata, Engineers, Kyoto, NOAA, Astronautics, Khalifa University, United Arab Locations: Japan, East Asia, United Arab Emirates