Daigoji, a temple in Kyoto, Japan, was founded in 874 and has survived the many twists and turns of history—including Japan’s destructive Onin War in the 15th century.
But this Shingon Buddhist temple is hardly stuck in the past—in fact, it plans to go where no Buddhist temple has gone before with an extraterrestrial expansion, according to Time Out Tokyo. With the help of Terra Space, a Kyoto-based satellite research company, Daigoji plans to launch a “temple” containing an enshrined Buddha sculpture, scriptures, and Buddhist artwork on a low-orbit satellite named Jotenin Gounji. (Its name means “temple of pure heaven for humanity.”)
The stated goal of the satellite is to create a temple that will be accessible to anyone anywhere on Earth. The launch is scheduled for 2023.