ISRO To Launch A Copy Of Bhagavad Gita Into Space Along With The Satish Dhawan Satellite Later This Month

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch into space a copy of the Bhagavad Gita along with the Satish Dhawan Satellite (SD Sat) which is scheduled for launch at the end of February aboard the polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) rocket, reports Hindustan Times.

The nanosatellite has been developed by SpaceKidz India which is an organisation dedicated to promoting space science among students. It would also carry three scientific payloads, one of which will study space radiation, and another one which will study the magnetosphere. Meanwhile, the third payload will demonstrate a low-power wide-area communication network.

The D Sat will also carry aboard a photograph of Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and the names of 25,000 individuals. SpaceKidz India took this initiative in a bid to spark interest of the people in the mission and space science as per the company's founder and chief executive Dr Srimathy Kesan.

“There is a lot of excitement in the group right now. This will be our first satellite to be deployed in space. When we finalised the mission, we asked people to send in their names that will be sent to space. And, within a week we received 25,000 entries. Of these, 1,000 names were sent in by people from outside India. There is a school in Chennai that sent in the names of everyone. We decided to do this because it will spark interest of the people in the mission and space science,” she stated.

Dr Kesan also shared that the company decided to send the copy of Bhagavad Gita into space on the lines of other space missions that have carried holy books such as the Bible. She also added, "We have also added the name and photograph of the prime minister on the top panel with the words Atmanirbhar mission. This satellite has been completely developed and fabricated in India, including the electronics and circuitry."

Additionally, the names of ISRO’s chairperson Dr K Sivan and scientific secretary Dr R Umamaheswaran have also been etched on the bottom.