Current Affairs » SPARK: New Virtual Space Museum Launched By ISRO

SPARK: New Virtual Space Museum Launched By ISRO

As part of the celebrations marking India’s 75th anniversary of independence, “SPARK”: The Space Tech Park has been unveiled by S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO); that is India’s first virtual space technology museum.

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

  • In April 2022, ISRO made a film called “Space on Wheels” that displayed 75 Indian satellites as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav festivities. 
  • The documentary also emphasises the subsequent ISRO missions, like the Chandrayaan-3 mission and the Gaganyaan Program.
  • SPARK is the first virtual space tech park ever made by ISRO in three dimensions. 
  • Users can access the application’s beta version on the ISRO website or at https://spacepark.isro.gov.in/ 

Table of contents

  1. Features of “SPARK”: The Space Tech Park
  2. What is ISRO?

Features of "SPARK": The Space Tech Park

  • In the platform’s beta edition, guests can virtually board the Space on Wheels bus and experience a tour of SPARK. They can easily interact with the website through the interactive interface of this digital space museum, called “SPARK.” 
  • In addition to numerous encounters, it contains a museum, a theatre, an observatory, a garden with life-size rockets, a lakeside dining area, a children’s play area, and more. 
  • It offers the option to access or leave the facilities using specific arrows and zoom in and out for a 360° immersive experience. Inside the virtual facility, housed inside the main museum structure, visitors can explore various exhibitions on ISRO’s accomplishments, satellites, and launch vehicles. 
  • Visitors may also view the records of all the eminent scientists who significantly contributed to ISO’s success. The website provides access to several documents, pictures, and videos about the launch of vehicles, satellites, and scientific missions by ISRO. 
  • Prominent Directors of various ISRO centres and Department of Spaces Secretary S. Somnath applauded this move. More non-sensitive digital content should be added, according to the directors. Through the ISRO website, users can also access a beta version of this program.
  • In the theatre, a film outlining ISO’s missions will be shown. The sizes of the planets, from Mercury to Neptune, as well as the Moon of Earth, are displayed in a solar system park. More “non-sensitive” digital content will be added to this platform for use by different stakeholders.

What is ISRO?

  • Using a nationwide network of centres, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) conducts its operations. The Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad creates sensors and payloads. The U R Rao Satellite Centre (formerly the ISRO Satellite Centre) in Bangalore is where satellites are designed, produced, constructed, and tested. 
  • At the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, launch vehicles are developed. At the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island, close to Chennai, launches occur. 
  • Hassan and Bhopal are home to the Master Control Facilities for maintaining geostationary satellite stations. The National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad has facilities for receiving and analysing remote sensing data. Antrix Corporation, with its headquarters in Bangalore, is the commercial branch of ISRO.