Pope Francis is preparing to bless a nanobook containing one of his pandemic speeches ahead of its journey to space as part of a plan to send his message of hope and peace “beyond the borders of the earth”. The Vatican presented a project to send into space a miniaturised digital book containing a message of hope delivered by Pope Francis in 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, on Monday. The nanobook will be launched into orbit from a US space base in June.
The “nanobook” will be launched into orbit at an altitude of 525 km by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 10 June, the Holy See announced at a press conference in Rome.
The micro-engraved electronic part, barely two millimetres in size, will be carried on a rectangular satellite of about 30cm (a “CubeSat”).
It will be equipped with solar panels and designed by students from the Polytechnic of Turin in Italy.
It will contain a speech given by Pope Francis on March 27, 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
On that day, alone in a deserted and rain-swept St Peter’s Square, the head of the Catholic Church urged the “frightened and lost” world to review its priorities.
Called “Spei Satelles” (“satellite of hope”, in Latin), the project is being carried out jointly by the Vatican, the Italian Space Agency and various Italian institutes.
The aim of this collaboration is to send this message “beyond the borders of the earth to reach as many men and women as possible on our troubled planet from space”, explained the President of the Italian Space Agency, Giorgio Saccoccia.
The initiative was promoted by the Holy See’s Dicastery for Communication to promote the speech delivered at the Statio Orbis in St. Peter’s Square in 2020.
That moment of prayer has become an icon of hope that continues its journey to call the people of the planet to action, the Dicastery said.
Anyone who so desires can join the journey of “Spei Satelles” and become a bearer of hope and peace can register their name at www.speisatelles.org.
DON’T MISS: Pope Benedict’s funeral attracts thousands to St Peter’s Square [REVEAL]
Pope Francis faces Vatican ‘free for all’ after Benedict’s death [REPORT]
Pope Benedict death – Inside ‘internal crises that broke ex-pontiff’ [REVEAL]
Express.co.uk has contacted SpaceX for comment
Source: Read Full Article