The researchers claim that by stimulating individual cells in the retina, the laser pushed their perception beyond its natural limits, according to The Guardian.

The researchers, who have published details of the experiment in Science Advances on April 18, have named the new colour “olo.”

The five people on whom the experiment was conducted described the new colour as something “blue-green”, but have added that their description does not fully capture the richness of the experience.

“We predicted from the beginning that it would look like an unprecedented colour signal but we didn’t know what the brain would do with it,” Ren Ng, an electrical engineer at the University of California, Berkeley, was quoted as saying by The Guardian. “It was jaw-dropping. It’s incredibly saturated.”

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Austin Roorda, a vision scientist on the team, said that there is no way to convey the colour in an article or on a monitor.

“The whole point is that this is not the colour we see, it’s just not. The colour we see is a version of it, but it absolutely pales by comparison with the experience of olo,” Roorda said.

On a question whether the world would get the chance to experience the new colour, Ng responded that it’s not possible anytime soon.

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“This is basic science,” said Ng. “We’re not going to see olo on any smartphone displays or any TVs any time soon. And this is very, very far beyond VR headset technology.”

The experiment, however, has left some questioning.

John Barbur, a vision scientist at City, St George’s, University of London, told The Guardian that the experiment has not led to anything new and has “limited value”.

“It is not a new colour,” Barbur said. “It’s a more saturated green that can only be produced in a subject with normal red-green chromatic mechanism when the only input comes from M cones.”

Humans see colour when light hits specialised cells in the retina known as cones. There are three types of cones, each tuned to detect different wavelengths of light: long (L), medium (M), and short (S).

What is Aryabhata?

Named after an ancient Indian mathematician and astronomer (5th Century), Aryabhata was India’s first satellite. Launched from Kapustin Yar with the help of the Soviets on April 19, 1975, the launch of this indigenously-built satellite marked the beginning of India’s space age. The successful launch meant that India became just the 11th country in the world to send a satellite into orbit.

Aryabhata was designed as a 26-sided polyhedron that was 1.4 metres in diameter and weighed 360 kg. Barring the top and the bottom, each and every one of the 24 other faces were covered in solar panels.

Once in orbit, Aryabhata went around the Earth every 96.3 minutes. With an inclination of 50.7 degrees, the satellite went around in an orbit with an apogee (furthest point) of 619 km and a perigee (closest approach) of 563 km.

Tasked with conducting experiments in solar physics and X-ray astronomy, Aryabhata tasted minimal success (making observations of an X-ray source) before a power failure halted experiments after five days in orbit. In addition to providing scientists invaluable experience in building satellites, Aryabhata also collected information during its five operational days. It continued to transmit information for some more days. Aryabhata re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere on February 10, 1992 – corresponding to an orbital life of nearly 17 years.

Learning rocket science

While India’s satellite programme took shape in the 1970s, the scientists in the country had been gearing up for India’s indigenous space programme ever since the space race between Cold War rivals the U.S. and the Soviet Union had begun. In the 1960s, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developed a series of sounding rockets for atmospheric and meteorological research under the Rohini rocket programme. Following this success, the ISRO turned their attention towards building our own satellites.

Vikram Sarabhai, physicist and ISRO’s founder, appointed a team of 25 scientists, engineers, and researchers to design and develop a satellite at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad. Sarabhai entrusted space scientist Udupi Ramachandra Rao with the task of directing operations and assembling the satellite in Bengaluru.

Considering that Rao himself had only limited experience with regard to making a satellite, the young team that had been put together had to learn on the fly. While this is no easy task in any industry, it was probably doubly difficult in rocket science.

The initial design that they came up with was for a 100 kg satellite that could be launched using the Scout launch vehicle. This reliable launch vehicle that belonged to the U.S. was seen by Indians as an affordable option.

The ongoing Cold War, however, meant that the Soviets were concerned about such a collaboration. In 1971, Indira Gandhi, India’s Prime Minister, received a message from the Indian ambassador at Moscow stating that the Soviet Academy of Sciences was willing to assist India in launching its first satellite. India decided to go the Soviet way in the end.

Rao, meanwhile, gathered his team at Peenya, an industrial area in Bengaluru that was going to serve as the site for the country’s first indigenous satellite. Four sheds in the area were repurposed into a working station, which was housed above a laboratory that was cleared out to facilitate work immediately.

What’s in a name?

With Rao and his team working on the satellite and a deal about to be struck between the Indians and the Soviets, it seemed like a matter of time before the launch date could be decided. The death of Sarabhai on December 30, 1971, however, put the entire project in jeopardy as the entire Indian space programme came to an abrupt halt.

Notwithstanding the delays in finalising details or acquiring financial backing, Rao and his team ploughed towards the finish line. This, despite the fact that they were building the satellite without naming it – a problem they wished to solve with the PM’s support.

In order to gain the PM’s backing, the scientists decided to offer Indira Gandhi three names from which she could choose one for the satellite. In addition to Aryabhata, Mitra (denoting friendly relations between India and the Soviet Union) and Jawahar (invoking the spirit of independence) were the names that were suggested. Indira Gandhi chose Aryabhata.

A success story

With the name out of the way and most of the hurdles surmounted, the satellite was set to be launched on April 19, 1975. Even though most of the leading space powers of the time didn’t expect India to make it, Aryabhata’s successful launch showcased to the world that India could build its own satellite. This template has been repeated many times in the decades that have followed, as India has established itself as a space power despite working with limited budgets.

The success was immediately celebrated, both in the country and elsewhere. On April 20, 1975, The Hindu splashed the headline “India Enters Space Age: Satellite Put into Orbit” in its front pages across the country. Within hours of the successful launch, the Posts and Telegraphs Department announced the issue of a special stamp to mark the historic milestone – a first in itself. The Soviets too released a stamp featuring Aryabhata the following year, as a sign of the friendly collaboration between the two nations.

Even though Aryabhata collected data for less than five days, it serves as a success story as it showed that the country’s young engineers and scientists could overcome adversity to pull off great feats. India had achieved what only 10 other countries (U.S., Soviet Union, West Germany, China, France, U.K., Australia, Canada, Japan, and Italy) had achieved until then. Since then, India has gone on to achieve feats through its space programmes that even fewer countries have managed so far.