On June 26 and 27, 100 students from eight northeastern states traveled to Bengaluru to visit important Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) facilities as part of the North East Council-sponsored North East Students' Programme for Awareness, Reach, and Knowledge on Space (NE-SPARKS).
On the first day, the students visited ISRO's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC). On the second day, they visited the Satellite Integration and Test Establishment (ISITE) and the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC).
Participants on these tours were given a unique opportunity to see India's space missions up close, including the systems that are utilized for real-time mission operations, spacecraft integration, and satellite tracking.
Additionally, students toured a space exhibition that included scaled satellite models and in-depth exhibits on space systems and technology, as well as rare images from the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission.
The two-day visit is a component of a larger program designed to introduce northeastern schoolchildren to practical uses of space science and technology in order to foster their scientific curiosity. The program is expected to help 800 students in total, 100 from each of the northeastern states. This visit was the second of its kind to be planned under the NE-SPARKS initiative.
Through interactive seminars and guided tours, ISRO representatives interacted directly with students, responding to their inquiries and outlining the engineering principles underlying India's space accomplishments. The exposure, according to the organizers, is meant to encourage future employment in STEM disciplines, especially aerospace engineering and space research.