What is SPARK, ISRO's new virtual museum?

New Delhi, Aug 15: Commemorating India's 75th year of Independence, the Indian Space Agency has undertaken various missions to showcase the might in exploring space activities and beyond. Among these, recently, ISRO has unveiled 'SPARK,' a virtual space tech park.

According to a statement by the space agency, "Chairman, ISRO 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."

What is SPARK?

SPARK, is launched by ISRO Chairman S Somnath. The virtual museum contains and hosts several documents, images, and videos related to launching vehicles, satellites, scientific missions and pioneers of India's space sectors. It serves as a one-stop destination for everything related to ISRO.

The beta version of the application can be accessed through the ISRO website or at https:spacepark.isro.gov.in," it was stated.

Serving as ISRO's first-ever 3D virtual space tech park, SPARK includes a theatre, an observatory, a garden with life-sized rockets, a lakeside cafe area, and a children's play area along with several other facilities.

As soon as you enter the webpage, it gives you the option on the top left corner to enter the different areas in the park like the museum, the theatre, or the lobby. The application helps visitors navigate using dedicated arrows with options to zoom in and out for a 360° immersive experience.

Inside the main museum building, one can navigate through the virtual facility to explore various exhibits on the Indian Space Agency's achievements, satellites and launch vehicles. Different areas of the park provide information on iconic scientists who have played essential roles in the journey through the years. Some prominent names include Dr Homi Jehangir Bhabha, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, Prof Raja Ramanna, Prof Yash Pal, Prof MGK Menon, and Prof Satish Dhawan among others.

Detailed tours of different galleries provide a glimpse of ISRO's various satellite programmes and offer images, videos and documents related to various launch vehicles. In the open area of the park, next to a giant sun-dial stand a bus is Space on Wheels. It offers information about ISRO's various outreach programmes.