日本研制出生界首颗木制卫星使用后不会形成太空污染

发布时间：2025-05-19　点此：36次

跟着太空中的卫星越来越多，太空污染已经成为不行忽视的问题。为此，日本科学家研制出了世界首颗木制卫星，这种卫星在完成任务从头进入大气层焚烧时，只会发生一点可生物降解的灰。

The wooden LignoSat satellite that will burn into ash when it re-enters the atmosphere [artist’s impression]. Photograph: Kyoto University

Japanese scientists have created one of the world’s most unusual spacecraft – a tiny satellite that is made of timber.

日本科学家制造出了全世界最共同的航天器——用木材做成的微型卫星。

The LignoSat probe has been built of magnolia wood, which, in experiments carried out on the International Space Station (ISS), was found to be particularly stable and resistant to cracking. Now plans are being finalised for it to be launched on a US rocket this summer.

这枚名为LignoSat的航天探测器是用木兰木制成的，在国际空间站上展开的试验中发现，木制卫星特别安稳，也不容易开裂。现在方案本年夏天将这颗木制卫星放在美国火箭上发射出去，现在该方案还未终究敲定。

The timber satellite has been built by researchers at Kyoto University and the logging company Sumitomo Forestry in order to test the idea of using biodegradable materials such as wood to see if they can act as environmentally friendly alternatives to the metals from which all satellites are currently constructed.

这颗木制卫星是由京都大学的研讨人员和砍木企业住友林业公司联手制造的，意图是测验木头这种可生物降解资料是否可以作为代替当下用来制造一切卫星的金属资料的环保挑选。

"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, a Japanese astronaut and aerospace engineer with Kyoto University, warned recently. “Eventually, it will affect the environment of the Earth.”

日本宇航员、京都大学航天工程师土井隆雄表明：“一切从头进入地球大气层的卫星都会焚烧并发生氧化铝微粒，这些微粒会在高层大气中飘浮许多年，终究会对地球环境形成影响。”

To tackle the problem, Kyoto researchers set up a project to evaluate types of wood to determine how well they could withstand the rigours of space launch and lengthy flights in orbit round the Earth. The first tests were carried out in laboratories that recreated conditions in space, and wood samples were found to have suffered no measurable changes in mass or signs of decomposition or damage.

为了处理这一问题，京都大学的研讨人员设立了一个项目来评价各种类型的木材是否能很好地接受太空发射以及绕地飞翔绵长旅途的强度。第一批测验是在复原太空条件的试验室中进行的，研讨人员发现木材样本的质量没有显着改动，也没有呈现出分化或破坏的痕迹。

"Wood’s ability to withstand these conditions astounded us,” said Koji Murata, head of the project.

该项意图负责人村田浩二表明：“木材在这些条件下的抗压才能让我们感到震动。”

After these tests, samples were sent to the ISS, where they were subjected to exposure trials for almost a year before being brought back to Earth. Again they showed little signs of damage, a phenomenon that Murata attributed to the fact that there is no oxygen in space which could cause wood to burn, and no living creatures to cause it to rot.

在测验完毕后，木材样本被送到了国际空间站，在那里木材样本暴露在太空环境下进行了将近一年的测验才被送回地球。这一次木材样本仍然没有呈现出多少损坏的痕迹，村田浩二将这一现象归结于太空中没有导致木材焚烧的氧气，也没有导致木材腐朽的生物。

Several types of wood were tested, including Japanese cherry, with wood from magnolia trees proving to be the most robust. This has now been used to build Kyoto’s wooden satellite, said Murata.

研讨人员测验了包含日本山樱木在内的几种木材，事实证明木兰木是最巩固的。村田浩二指出，当时京都大学的木制卫星便是用木兰木制造的。

Murata added that a final decision had still to be made on the launch vehicle, with choices now narrowed down to a flight this summer on an Orbital Sciences Cygnus supply ship to the ISS or a similar SpaceX Dragon mission slightly later in the year. It is expected that the probe – which is the size of a coffee mug –will operate in space for at least six months before it is allowed to enter the upper atmosphere.

村田浩二弥补道，是否将木制卫星投入生产还需要最终的测验才能做决议，眼下有几个测验挑选，其中就包含本年夏天让木制卫星搭载“天鹅座”货运飞船前往国际空间站，或在本年晚些时候搭载龙飞船去太空。这枚只要咖啡杯巨细的探测器估计将在太空运转至少6个月再回来高层大气。

If the LignoSat performs well during its operation in orbit, then the door could be opened for the use of wood as a construction material for more satellites. It is estimated that more than 2,000 spacecraft are likely to be launched annually in coming years, and the aluminium that they are likely to deposit in the upper atmosphere as they burn up on re-entry could soon pose major environmental problems.

假如LignoSat探测器在轨运转杰出，木材将会正式获批成为卫星的制作资料。据估计未来每年将会制作超2000枚探测器，这些铝制探测器从头进入地球大气时焚烧后留在高层大气中的氧化铝颗粒物将会形成严峻的环境问题。

Recent research carried out by scientists at the University of British Columbia, Canada, revealed that aluminium from re-entering satellites could cause serious depletion of the ozone layer which protects the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and could also affect the amount of sunlight that travels through the atmosphere and reaches the ground.

加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚大学的科学家最近展开的一项研讨发现，卫星从头进入大气时留下的铝离子将会导致阻隔太阳紫外线的臭氧层严峻耗费，没有了臭氧层，穿过大气层并抵达地上的日照量也会增多。

However, this should not be a problem with satellites built of wood, like LignoSat, which, when it burns up as it re-enters the atmosphere after completing its mission, will produce only a fine spray of biodegradable ash.

可是，像LignoSat这样的木制卫星就不会发生这种问题，在完成任务从头进入大气层焚烧时，它只会发生一小把可生物降解的灰。

英文来历：卫报

翻译&修改：丹妮

审稿：潘一侨、齐磊

来历：中国日报网

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