Buddhist Temple in Space, Jōten’in Gō’unji, to Launch in 2023

The company Terra Space Ltd. 寺スペース株式会社 has formed a technological and business alliance with Daigoji Temple 醍醐寺, a World Cultural Heritage Site in Kyoto, to develop and launch the first Buddhist temple in space, using a section of an IoT satellite scheduled to launch in 2023. The satellite will serve as uchū ji’in宇宙寺院, literally “Space Temple.”

With this technology and business alliance, Terra Space will launch the Gō’unji Executive Committee together with Daigoji Temple to operate the space temple and serve as administrators.

In addition, in cooperation with Daigoji Temple and other firms, the IoT satellite will be used to protect cultural properties in mountainous areas where cell or mobile phone signals cannot reach.

The space temple, named Jōten’in Gō’unji 浄天院劫蘊寺 or Gō’unji for short, will be based on the Dharma school of Daigoji Temple, which is dedicated to protecting the universe. In their press release it is indicated that “Space Buddhist Services”, uchū hōyō宇宙法要, will be held regularly at Daigoji temple and others “for the peace of the universe, including Earth, and the safety of human activities in the universe. “.

The Gō’unji Space Temple will fly in a low orbit with an altitude of 400 km to 500 km, circling the earth every hour and a half. Its position can be tracked with a smartphone app.

Details and updates can be found on the official Gō’unji website.