World's First Wooden Satellite Launched Into Space

LignoSat, a satellite made from wood and developed by scientists at Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, shown during a press conference in May, 2024. STR / JIJI PRESS/AFP/File
LignoSat, a satellite made from wood and developed by scientists at Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, shown during a press conference in May, 2024. STR / JIJI PRESS/AFP/File
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World's First Wooden Satellite Launched Into Space

LignoSat, a satellite made from wood and developed by scientists at Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, shown during a press conference in May, 2024. STR / JIJI PRESS/AFP/File
LignoSat, a satellite made from wood and developed by scientists at Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry, shown during a press conference in May, 2024. STR / JIJI PRESS/AFP/File

The world's first wooden satellite has blasted off on a SpaceX rocket, its Japanese developers said Tuesday, part of a resupply mission to the International Space Station.
Scientists at Kyoto University expect the wooden material to burn up when the device re-enters the atmosphere -- potentially providing a way to avoid generating metal particles when a retired satellite returns to Earth, AFP reported.
These particles may negatively impact both the environment and telecommunications, the developers say.
Each side of the box-like experimental satellite, named LignoSat, measures just 10 centimeters (four inches).
It was launched on an unmanned rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Kyoto University's Human Spaceology Center said.
The satellite, installed in a special container prepared by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, "flew into space safely", it said in a post on X.
A spokeswoman for LignoSat's co-developer Sumitomo Forestry told AFP the launch had been "successful".
It "will arrive at the ISS soon, and will be released to outer space about a month later" to test its strength and durability, she said.
Data will be sent from the satellite to researchers who can check for signs of strain and determine if the satellite can withstand extreme changes in temperature.
"Satellites that are not made of metal should become mainstream," Takao Doi, an astronaut and special professor at Kyoto University, said at a press conference earlier this year.



Pakistan Shuts Primary Schools for a Week in Lahore Due to Dangerous Air Quality

A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
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Pakistan Shuts Primary Schools for a Week in Lahore Due to Dangerous Air Quality

A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)
A vehicle of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in Lahore on November 4, 2024. (AFP)

Dangerously poor air quality on Monday forced Pakistani authorities in the cultural capital of Lahore to close primary schools for a week, government officials said, after the air-quality index hit a record high over the weekend.

The measures in Lahore were part of a larger effort to protect children from respiratory-related and other diseases in the city of 14 million people. The government said everyone in Lahore was required to wear a face mask.

Fifty percent of employees must also work from home as part of a “green lockdown” in the city, the government said, adding that barbecuing food without filters was banned and motorized rickshaws restricted. Wedding halls must close at 10 p.m. and artificial rain is likely to be used to combat the pollution.

The air-quality index in Lahore exceeded 1,000 over the weekend, a record high in Pakistan.

Toxic gray smog has sickened tens of thousands of people, mainly children and elderly people, since last month when the air quality started worsening in Lahore, the capital of eastern Punjab province bordering India.

The government has also banned construction work in certain areas and fined owners of smoke-emitting vehicles. Schools will remain closed for a week because of the pollution, according to a government notification.

The concentration of PM 2.5, or tiny particulate matter, in the air approached 450, considered hazardous, the Punjab Environment Protection Department said.

Lahore was once known as a city of gardens, which were ubiquitous during the Mughal era from the 16th to 19th centuries. But rapid urbanization and surging population growth have left little room for greenery.