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Wooden satellite heads to space in Mars exploration test

Researchers hope the test could pave the way for humans to "build houses, live and work" in space.

Aiming to plant trees and build houses from timber on the moon and Mars in 50 years, Mr Doi's team set about designing the NASA-certified satellite. The environmental impact of the satellite at the end of its life is also minimised, burning up in Earth's atmosphere with less pollution than metal equivalents. Kenji Kariya, a manager at the Sumitomo Forestry Tsukuba Research Institute said: "It may seem outdated, but wood is actually cutting-edge technology as civilisation heads to the moon and Mars.

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