VOA慢速英语--日本计划在2023年发射世界上第一颗用木头制成的卫星

Japanese researchers say they are working to build the world's first satellite made of wood.

The goal is to help fight the problem of space junk. Space junk includes things like dead satellites, lost pieces of equipment and small pieces of paint. Such objects can present threats to spacecraft and satellites operating in space.

The project is a joint¹ effort involving the company Sumitomo Forestry² and Japan's Kyoto University. The development team recently announced plans for the satellite in a news release.

The researchers say the wooden satellite – which they call LignoSat – is one of several planned projects that seek to explore how wood might be used in space in the future.

The developers say wood offers several advantages over other materials commonly used to build satellites, such as aluminum³ and other metals.

For example, the researchers say wood does not block electromagnetic waves. For this reason, wooden structures could be used to house antenna⁴ equipment and other controlling devices, the team said in a statement.

Wooden structures would also be simpler to design and weigh less than current satellite equipment, the researchers added. Such satellites would be better for the environment because they would burn up when reentering Earth's atmosphere. They would not release polluting particles into the air and oceans.

Space junk: a growing problem

The researchers say space junk is a growing problem. Thousands of non-operating satellites are currently orbiting the Earth, and the number of new satellites continues to grow. Last year, European and United Nations agencies announced they were developing a plan for worldwide action to deal with space junk. The agencies said waste orbiting the earth must be cleaned up to make room for new satellites.

One of the leaders of the project is Japanese astronaut Takao Doi, who is also a professor at Kyoto University. He told BBC News that the driving force behind the project is the need to limit pollutants⁵ released from satellites that remain in the upper atmosphere for many years.

"Eventually it will affect the environment of the Earth," Doi said. He added that after the first steps in the research process are completed, the team will begin "developing the engineering model of the satellite." After that, a satellite flight model will be manufactured.

The first wooden satellite could be launched by 2023.

The researchers admit that the project presents some big technological⁶ problems. These include finding a wood material that can keep its shape in severe temperatures and survive intense sunlight over a long period of time.

The Japanese project involves researching different wood-based materials and protective coatings that can hold up in the extreme conditions of space. The team is studying the construction of wooden structures using cedar⁷ and birch wood.

The researchers also plan to study how other wood products would perform in space. They want to find out whether trees could help humans in extreme environments such as space stations.

The company backing the project, Sumitomo Forestry, has also developed buildings made mainly of wood. In 2018, the company announced its largest project, a 350-meter wooden skyscraper⁸ to be built in Tokyo. It says the goal is to complete the building by 2041.

Words in This Story

junk – n. material that is no longer of use or working

advantage – n. something that is good or desirable

antenna – n. a device used to send or receive communications signals

coating – n. a thin layer of a substance that covers an object for the purpose of protecting it or for some other reason

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

3 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

4 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

5 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

8 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。