Take a Space Tour with ISRO’s Virtual Space Museum, SPARK

When India completed its 75 years and was celebrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ – the 75th year of Independence, ISRO - the Indian Space Research Organization which played a crucial role in India’s development at a mass stage did something that no other organization had done till date. They launched India's First Space-themed Virtual Museum. The virtual model, named SPARK is a one-of-its-kind release by ISRO that displays the iconic feats achieved by the space research wing of India. 

The project which was launched on 10th September 2022 by the Chairman of ISRO, S Somanath, hosts several documents, images and videos related to ISRO launch vehicles, satellites and scientific missions. At the time of the launch Chairman and Directors of the various ISRO centres appreciated the initiative taken and suggested more non-sensitive digital content to be brought on this platform for use by different stakeholders. 

The tour which starts with a video of about 6:34 seconds provides an immersive experience of travelling to the museum, depositing the bag at the baggage counter and buying tickets for entry. 

Upon entering the tour, you are taken inside the gigantic world of Indian space. The moment you enter the arena, you see a vast number of attractions, models, and activities. The initial space hosts a souvenir shop, a parking area, a ‘Space on Wheels’ bus which takes you to the entire vicinity, a telescopic centre which allows you to watch the space, a selfie point with various props related to space and ISRO, a lake view bistro and a fun activity park for kids. 

Talking about the achievements and models of ISRO, the entrance has a ‘Solar System Park’ which has information about different planets. Further, it has a ‘Space Theatre’ which shows a documentary on various achievements and the journey of the organisation. 

The park has various satellite vehicles like the PSLV, GSLV, a model of a ground station antenna, ‘The Legacy Garden’ which shows ISRO’s journey from carrying the parts on a bicycle to some of the biggest space missions, a model of APPLE - The Ariane Passenger Payload Experiment, ISRO's first indigenous, experimental communication satellite, Nike-apache - India’s first rocket and other notable personalities like Sir Satish Dhawan, Sir S S Bhatnagar, ISRO scientist like Prof. Raja Ramanna, Prof. MGK Menon, Prof. Yash Pal, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam and others who have vastly contributed to the field of space. 

The tour can be taken through the Space Park Tour link and the beta version of the application can be accessed through ISRO’s website.