Turns out, it was a lost weather sensor from ISRO. The gadget, marked P 0086, got tangled in a tree after its balloon popped during a routine atmospheric test. Villagers called police, who opened the box; and found a transmitter with a phone number inside. One call later, ISRO scientists were on the line explaining everything. The device is worth a lot, and it’s now safely in police custody, waiting to be handed back to the space agency. This isn’t sci-fi; it’s science, gone slightly off-course. Sometimes, even rocket scientists need villagers to catch their gear.