Darbhanga Planetarium in Bihar is set to get an ISRO Space Gallery and a Space Innovation Centre. The proposed facility will showcase India's major space missions and give school and college students hands-on training in rocketry, robotics, satellite building and coding. A team of senior ISRO scientists inspected the proposed site on 31 October 2026.
Why in News?
Darbhanga MP Dr Gopal Ji Thakur chaired a high-level review meeting in Darbhanga on the design, construction and implementation of the project. During the same visit, a team of senior ISRO scientists and experts inspected the land available inside the planetarium complex. The project is expected to boost science and technical education across the Mithila region.
Key Facts at a Glance
| Project | ISRO Space Gallery and Space Innovation Centre |
|---|---|
| Location | Darbhanga Planetarium (Taramandal) complex, Darbhanga, Bihar |
| Estimated cost | Rs 61 crore |
| Amount approved so far | Rs 36 crore |
| Land | About 2 acres inside the planetarium complex |
| Technical support | ISRO (in-principle assurance conveyed in an August 2026 letter from Space Commission Chairman V. Narayanan) |
| Review meeting chaired by | Dr Gopal Ji Thakur, MP, Darbhanga |
| ISRO site inspection | 31 October 2026 |
| Beneficiaries | School students, engineering students and youth of the Mithila region |
What Will the Space Gallery Have?
The gallery will tell the story of India's space programme through interactive exhibits:
- Displays on major Indian missions – Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, Aditya-L1 and Gaganyaan
- 3D models of launch vehicles and spacecraft
- Virtual Reality (VR) experiences
- Spacewalk simulation for visitors
What Will the Innovation Centre Offer?
The Space Innovation Centre will work as a practical learning lab where students can learn by doing. Planned activities include:
- Rocketry – basics of rocket design and launch
- Robotics – building and programming robots
- Mini-satellite technology – how small satellites are designed and built
- Coding – programming skills for science and technology projects
- Workshops, training programmes and educational events
The detailed curriculum, construction schedule and opening date have not been announced yet.
Who Attended the Review Meeting?
- Dr Gopal Ji Thakur, Member of Parliament, Darbhanga (chair)
- Vanshidhar, senior ISRO scientist
- Chandan Kumar, Principal, Darbhanga College of Engineering
- Dr Jamshed Alam, Head, PG Department of Physics, Lalit Narayan Mithila University
- Neha Kumari, Principal, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Women's Institute of Technology
- Representatives of the university IT institute and the planetarium
Significance
- Science outreach in North Bihar: students of Mithila will get ISRO-level exposure without travelling to big cities.
- Hands-on learning: rocketry, robotics and satellite labs move learning beyond textbooks.
- Rural talent: the project is especially aimed at bright children from rural areas.
- Space careers: early exposure can inspire more young people to choose careers in space science, engineering and the growing private space sector.
- Tourism and education hub: the planetarium already attracts visitors; the gallery will make Darbhanga a stronger science-learning destination.
About Darbhanga Planetarium
| Official name | Darbhanga Planetarium-cum-Science Museum (Taramandal) |
|---|---|
| Location | Polytechnic campus, Darbhanga, Bihar |
| Inaugurated | 12 January 2023 |
| Dome diameter | 14 metres |
| Seating | Planetarium 150, auditorium 300, orientation hall 50 |
| Shows | Both 2D and 3D shows |
| Note | Bihar's second planetarium (the first is Indira Gandhi Planetarium, Patna) |
Static GK: ISRO and the Missions in the Gallery
| ISRO founded | 15 August 1969 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Bengaluru, Karnataka |
| Founder / Father of Indian space programme | Dr Vikram Sarabhai |
| Parent department | Department of Space (directly under the Prime Minister) |
| ISRO Chairman | V. Narayanan (also Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman, Space Commission) |
| Chandrayaan-3 | Landed near the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023 – India became the first country to land near the lunar south pole; 23 August is observed as National Space Day |
| Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) | Launched 5 November 2013; entered Mars orbit on 24 September 2014 – India was the first Asian country to reach Mars orbit and the first in the world to do so in its first attempt |
| Aditya-L1 | India's first solar mission; launched 2 September 2023, placed in a halo orbit around Lagrange point L1 on 6 January 2024 |
| Gaganyaan | India's human spaceflight programme to send Indian astronauts to low Earth orbit |
Practice MCQs
1. The proposed ISRO Space Gallery and Innovation Centre will be set up at which planetarium?
(a) Indira Gandhi Planetarium, Patna
(b) Darbhanga Planetarium, Bihar
(c) Birla Planetarium, Kolkata
(d) Nehru Planetarium, New Delhi
2. What is the estimated cost of the project?
(a) Rs 36 crore
(b) Rs 45 crore
(c) Rs 61 crore
(d) Rs 92 crore
3. Who chaired the review meeting on the project?
(a) V. Narayanan
(b) Gopal Ji Thakur
(c) Nitish Kumar
(d) Jamshed Alam
4. Which of the following is NOT a planned activity of the Space Innovation Centre?
(a) Rocketry
(b) Robotics
(c) Mini-satellite technology
(d) Deep-sea drilling
5. Aditya-L1, one of the missions to be showcased in the gallery, studies which celestial body?
(a) Moon
(b) Mars
(c) Sun
(d) Venus
6. Darbhanga is located in which cultural region of Bihar?
(a) Magadh
(b) Bhojpur
(c) Mithila
(d) Anga
Answers: 1 – (b) | 2 – (c) | 3 – (b) | 4 – (d) | 5 – (c) | 6 – (c)
Conclusion
The ISRO Space Gallery and Innovation Centre at Darbhanga Planetarium is a major step towards taking space science to students outside metro cities. With exhibits on India's landmark missions and practical labs in rocketry, robotics and satellite technology, the facility can turn curiosity into real skills and inspire the next generation of space scientists from Mithila.
Source: Based on reports of the review meeting and ISRO site inspection held in Darbhanga on 31 October 2026.