COSMOS Planetarium Mysuru: India's First LED Dome Opened

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the COSMOS-Mysuru Planetarium at Mysuru in Karnataka, a facility described as India's first LED dome planetarium. Speaking after watching a show inside the dome, he called the experience remarkable and congratulated the country on the milestone. He thanked the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, the University of Mysore and the government departments that worked on the project.

Science and tradition together

The Prime Minister said he was returning to Mysuru only months after dedicating the Viveka Smaraka there. He drew a contrast between the two landmarks, saying one turns a visitor inward towards reflection while the planetarium turns the gaze upward towards the universe, and that spirituality and science have always travelled together in India. He recalled Indian astronomers of the past such as Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Bhaskaracharya and Nilakantha Somayaji, who mapped the movement of planets and stars, built calendars and worked out eclipses without any of the instruments available today. He also recalled that the University of Mysore was set up under Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, and that the Wadiyar family helped lay the foundation of the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.

From Jai Jawan to Jai Anusandhan

Tracing the national slogan, the Prime Minister noted that Jai Vigyan was added by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and that he himself added Jai Anusandhan for the present century. He pointed to Indian students at the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, hosted in Mumbai last year and held this year in Vietnam, where five Indian students took part and returned with four gold medals and one silver.

Space achievements he listed

• India became the first country to land near the south pole of the Moon, with Chandrayaan-3.
• Aditya-L1 was launched as India's first space based solar observatory.
• India became the fourth country to show the ability to dock and undock spacecraft in orbit.
• An Indian astronaut travelled to the International Space Station and carried out experiments useful for Gaganyaan.
• The space sector was opened to private players, letting startups launch rockets and place satellites in orbit.

Space technology in daily life

He cited a satellite communication system built for fishermen, which lets officials warn boats fitted with receivers during a storm and track their return. He mentioned the real time train tracking system developed by Indian Railways with the space agency, and the use of satellite data with field inputs under Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana to estimate yields and settle insurance claims. On the research push, he said more than 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs have already reached over one crore students, and listed One Nation One Subscription, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and the research, development and innovation scheme of one lakh crore rupees.