With interest in space among public zooming up courtesy the successful flight of the Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon, India’s first Space Science Museum opened in Hyderabad.

Located on the erstwhile Naubat Pahad in the centre of the city, it’s a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the B M Birla Science Centre.

The B M Birla Science Centre has given 9000 square feet of space in its Science Museum building. There is already the popular Planetarium, a marble white temple, and a Dinosaur museum among others on the twin hillocks.

The ISRO on its part is providing some 65 models of various spacecrafts, satellites and rockets of varying sizes. This museum exhibits scale models of Indian Launch vehicles GSLV Mark III, GSLV Mark II and PSLV, Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter spacecraft, APPLE, Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Rohini RS-1 and a model of the International Space Station (ISS).

 

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At present, 24 exhibits are on display to encourage young minds to explore Space Science and Technology. There would be a section on the diverse range of images sent back by the Indian Remote Sensing satellites on the countries natural resources and how utilisation of the imagery is being done to tap them for development purposes.

The opening of the Space Museum recently has been timed with the golden jubilee year of the Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute (BACRI). The Governor of the State of Telangana, ESL Narasimhan inaugurated it in the presence of Nirmala Birla, Chairman of the BACRI and CK Birla, Chairman of the CK Birla Group and BG Sidharth, Director of the Science Centre..

Among the biggest models on display would be the giant GSLV Rocket which would be approximately 60 feet tall. Incidentally, the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle), Mark 3 version has powered the launch of the Chandrayaan Mission of the ISRO on July 22 to land on the lunar surface on September 7.

Then there will be models of other rockets like the PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), which is the most successful launcher of smaller payloads into the near earth orbits with nearly 40 straight successes in a row.

One of the most exciting features would be a special enclosure in which visitors can directly get in touch with India’s Antarctic Space Station (Dakshin Gangotri) in real time.

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