India’s space achievements mounted on a wall museum
The museum also has a digital tablet-based User Interface that provides additional text, images, and video information about each ISRO artefact
Pune:
The ‘India in Space: Wall Museum’ featuring Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) products was unveiled at Persistent Systems Auditorium in Pune on Saturday.
The museum, which is certified by ISRO, tells the story of the space organization’s history and missions through authentic scale models of various elements, ranging from models of ISRO’s early work - Sounding Rockets, Aryabhat, Rohini satellites - to its most recent Gaganyaan Rockets, Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, Cryogenic and VIKAS engines, and Deep Space Antennas.
The museum also has a digital tablet-based User Interface that provides additional text, images, and video information about each ISRO artefact.
Many eminent luminaries spoke at the event, including Pramod Kale, one of the Rocket Boys and an ISRO pioneer who worked with Dr Vikram Sarabhai and APJ Abdul Kalam, Malathi Kalmadi, Managing Trustee of Kannada Sangha, which runs the Kaveri Group of Institutes, and Srinivas Laxman, a space journalist who has interviewed nearly every astronaut since Neil Armstrong.
Indic Inspirations was the first registered merchandise partner with ISRO when it was launched.
According to the organisers, the museum is an effort to promote stories of Indian art, craft, culture, achievements, and legacy to national and worldwide attention.
The gallery is divided into eight sections: ISRO’s History, Rockets and Launchers, Satellites and Yaans, Engines and Internals, Launchpads - SAHR, Ground activities, Human Space Flight Programme, and an Info tablet for teaching students about space sciences and ISRO.
The museum is spread across 7 × 7 feet of wall space and contains over 25 real objects from ISRO missions as well as information about Science of India’s Space Odyssey beginning with Rohini, Aryabhatta, Chandrayaan, and Mangalyaan and ending with Gaganyaan.
Sunil Jalihal, the founder and CEO of Indic Inspirations, stated, “We wanted to take up a concept that would promote India and their artisans in general. When people think about space, they think of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which also capitalises on their merchandise and receives a two-billion-dollar return.”
In collaboration with the Maharashtra Innovation Society, Indic Inspirations collaborated with local artisans to develop over 70 goods that tell the stories of ISRO’s missions, including scale models of ISRO’s technological assets, DIY kits, space board games, jigsaw puzzles, and many more.
“These concepts must be visible and easily accessible. Space is not limited; it encompasses all aspects of the environment,” stated Kale, former chairperson of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.
The Wall Museum was constructed as part of the grant that Indic Inspirations received as an Award Winner at Maharashtra Startup Week 2022 from the Maharashtra State Innovation Society (MSINS).
MSINS is a nodal government organisation that works to strengthen Maharashtra’s entrepreneurial ecosystem through innovation. With Dr Raghunath Mashelkar as its chairperson, MSINS has supported and enabled innovation in Maharashtra, said Kale.
“This Indic launch has taken us about a year to get the approval from ISRO. We have tried to integrate what makes India known from ISRO to the concept of zero,” said Jalihal.