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

The Space Buddhist Temple

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

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

In addition, in cooperation with Daigoji Temple and others, the IoT satellite will be used to protect cultural properties in mountainous areas where cell 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 the protection of the universe. According to the press release, uchū hōyō 宇宙法要 “Space Buddhist services” will be held regularly at Daigoji and other temples “for the peace of the entire universe including on earth and the safety of human activities in the universe.”

Gō’unji will fly in a low orbit at an altitude of 400 km to 500 km, circling the earth about once every one and a half hours. Its location will be visible on a smartphone application.

For more information, see the official website of Jōten’in Gō’unji