Japanese scientists make paper planes for space

[Guchi_Jnr]

A spacecraft made of folded paper zooming through the skies may sound far-fetched, but Japanese scientists plan to launch paper planes from the International Space Station to see if they make it back to Earth.
On Wednesday the University of Tokyo researchers tested small, origami planes made of special paper for 30 seconds in 250 degrees Celsius heat and wind at seven times the speed of sound.
The planes survived the wind tunnel test intact.
The theory is that paper craft, being much lighter than space shuttles, may escape the worst of the friction and heat that much heavier space shuttles face on re-entry to the atmosphere.
"Paper planes are extremely light so they slow down when the air is thin and can gradually descend," professor of aerospace engineering Shinji Suzuki said.
Professor Suzuki said the technology might one day be used for unmanned spacecraft.
The team has asked a Japanese astronaut to release the 20-centimetre long planes, made from paper chemically treated to resist heat and water, from the space station.
It will take several months for the craft to reach Earth and there is no way to predict their landing spot if they make it, Professor Suzuki said.
"It's going to be the space version of a message in a bottle. It will be great if someone picks one up," he said.
"We are thinking of writing messages on the planes saying 'if found, please contact us' in a couple of languages."

Hope for their sake, none of these land in Japan, cause it will just look like another piece of trash..

[meowchi]

Hope for their sake, none of these land in Japan, cause it will just look like another piece of trash..

I agree. 

I'm not disputing the science, just wondering why they would even bother. What tiny thing could you possibly want to return to earth, all the while, probably losing it in the process ?
Wouldn't they want to guaranty finding it?

[StreakInTheSky]

well they also risk burning them to bits if it doesn't work as they plan. I think they understand the risks they're taking.

They don't really need them to bring back anything. They just want to know if they can come back in one piece. If they don't find out of any ever reaching the earth's surface, it will probably be a failed mission/experiment I guess.

A problem with that article is that it really doesn't show how many paper planes they used or if they had any "real" plan to track them somehow.

[roktdemon]

i Laughed when i heard their plan to get them back. I mean, it's not guaranteed that you're going to get them back, and it is paper, so someone could just throw it away without a thought. It's also good that they made them water resistant, because there is a 70% chance it's going to land in a body of water. But altogether, I loved this story, I mean, who the hell else but the japanese would even think of doing something like this. And I do think that it's really useful, because it's prototyping for future products.

[shurastriker]

so maybe the plane make it but i doubt they can track it, the in best of the cases some kid find one and return it to NASA many decades in the future

LOL