Photo: bbc.com

A Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry and Kyoto University have joined forces to develop what they hope will be the world's first satellites made out of wood by 2023.

Space junk is becoming an increasing problem as more satellites are launched into the atmosphere. Wooden satellites would burn up without releasing harmful substances into the atmosphere or raining debris on the ground when they plunge back to Earth.

Takao Doi, a professor at Kyoto University and Japanese astronaut visited the International Space Station in March 2008. During this mission, he became the first person to throw a boomerang in space that had been specifically designed for use in microgravity.

Sumitomo Forestry said it would work on developing wooden materials highly resistant to temperature changes and sunlight.

Source: BBC