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Journalism of Courage
India’s space achievements were showcased in a 7*7 feet wooden cabinet through 25 artifacts at the ISRO wall museum launched on Saturday at Persistent Systems Auditorium. From Mangalyaan and Gaganyaan to a small miniature of the first parts of a rocket being transported on a bicycle, this vertical museum offers a glimpse into India’s successful space endeavours.
Sunil Jalihal, CEO of Indic Inspirations which is behind the museum, said that he believes this Indian space wall museum is first-of-its-kind in the world and perfect for schools as it takes minimum space, is accessible and can be easily set up. Collaborating with NID Ahmedabad, Michael Foley and Yogesh Dandekar as designers and experts such as Ramji Swaminathan from CoEP, the idea sprouted from NASA models lying unused in a school cupboard.
Indic Inspirations has signed an MoU with ISRO and is their first registered merchandise seller offering more than 70 plus products for the organisation. They are also working with Indian railways now to launch products inspired from iconic railways starting with Deccan Queen and Vande Bharat.
Among the sea of inquisitive faces at the auditorium on Saturday, some young ones were there to just fuel their inquisitiveness for astronomy and space. 19-year-old Arya Deshmukh who is currently completing her BSC in Computer Science from Fergusson College wishes to study astronomy further and was there to learn more from stalwarts present. Aniket Rak, a 21-year-old studying in Modern College learnt about the event from an IDSS space club.” I have been interested in astronomy from the start. I want to study astrobiology or astrochemistry further and also get a doctorate degree,” he said and was there to gain as much as possible from the event.
Those present for the launch included Dr Pramod Kale, former director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Malti Kalmadi from Kavery Group of Institutes, and others. The panel of invitees offered a diverse range of views on space exploration in India as well as the importance of introducing more knowledge about space and planets in the school curriculum.
Anand Deshpande, Chairman and MD Persistent, and N Sudheer Kumar, Chairman at ISRO, were among those who conveyed their support for the project virtually. Under the project, three schools from Osmanabad have installed the space wall and space kits were distributed in 25 schools across Osmanabad.
“ISRO and its story of frugal engineering and success against all odds is very inspiring. The journey of ISRO from carrying a rocket part on a bicycle or the first satellite on a bullock cart to recent missions of upcoming Gaganyaan and human flight programs are truly awe-inspiring. We mapped these stories to India’s art and crafts to create authentic models and objects,” said Jalihal.
