Kyoto Temple Aims To Launch Mini 'space Temple'
A Japanese temple in Kyoto City is planning with a venture company to launch a "space temple," a small satellite carrying a Buddha statuette.
Daigoji Temple is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temple and its partner Terra Space, a venture firm started by Kyoto University, held a Buddhist service on Monday to pray for the success of the project.
They are planning to launch a satellite in two years' time. The satellite that will carry the statuette is under 30 centimeters in width and length. They say the space temple will orbit the Earth at an altitude of about 500 kilometers, in the hope of inviting world peace.
But they say they haven't decided on which rocket to use for the launch or how to finance the project.
Organizers said at the service that well-wishers' messages will be converted to digital data and sent to the satellite. They also said the satellite's location information will be sent to smartphones.
A senior Daigoji official said the world has neither borders nor races when it's seen from space. He expressed hope that the space temple will be a place where diverse people will share their prayers.