ELIGE MADERA Reducing Space Pollution, a New Mission for Wood Although space debris is not yet a much talked-about topic, it’s important to be alert because it could become an environmental problem in the future. Fortunately, there are agencies that have spent years looking for ideas about how to launch recyclable satellites into space. Although space debris is not yet a much talked-about topic, it’s important to be alert because it could become an environmental problem in the future. Fortunately, there are agencies that have spent years looking for ideas about how to launch recyclable satellites into space. One of them is the European Space Agency (ESA), which seeks alternatives to reduce space pollution within the framework of the "Clean Space" project, with the intention that some of the material from the satellites could be recycled for future missions as fuel or even as food. A Satellite Made of Wood "WISA Woodsatt" is the name of the satellite that a Finnish company created to launch into space. It aims to gather information regarding the behavior and durability of plywood in an environment with extreme space conditions such as high temperatures, radiation, heat from the sun, traveling at 40,000 kilometers per hour, and the vacuum of space, among others. The satellite also has sensors, attached cameras and even a selfie stick to show the entire process in outer space. The project was carried out by the Finnish space companies Artic Astronautics and Huld, in association with the paper, wood and pulp forestry company UPM Plywood. It’s expected to be launched in the next few months. The Japanese Are Not Far Behind Building wooden satellites is also in the plans for a Japanese company, Sumitomo Forestry - one of CMPC Wood Products' commercial partners in Asia - in conjunction with Kyoto University, who are developing a satellite with a casing made of wood. The Sumitomo Forestry company is working on research into tree growth for future planting in space. Takao Doi, a Kyoto University professor and astronaut, reflects, "We are very concerned about the fact that all satellites that re-enter the Earth's atmosphere burn up and create small alumina particles that will float in the upper atmosphere for many years," while satellites with wooden casings will burn up upon entering the atmosphere and leave no trace other than carbon dioxide and water vapor. For Takao, the next step will be to develop the satellite model from an engineering point of view, and then manufacture the flight model. What is happening today on planet Earth is a clear example of what it means to have a late reaction to climate change, which is why it’s so important that this research on wooden satellites is being developed so that, in the future, we can be alert to possible environmental pollution in space.