Sun Aug 03 05:19:11 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
ISRO, in collaboration with the North Eastern Council and state governments, hosted 800 students from the Northeast region of India as part of the NE-SPARKS program. The students visited ISRO facilities in Bengaluru, learning about deep space communications, satellite integration, testing processes, and India’s Gaganyaan mission. The program was initiated following directives from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. ISRO is also preparing for a U.S. collaboration, the BlueBird communications satellite launch, after the NISAR project.
**News Article:**
**Northeast Students Get Hands-On Space Exploration Experience at ISRO**
**Bengaluru, August 3, 2025** – Eight hundred students from the Northeast region of India recently embarked on an immersive journey into the world of space exploration, visiting the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facilities in Bengaluru. The initiative, known as the North East Students’ Programme for Awareness, Reach, and Knowledge on Space (NE-SPARKS), is a collaborative effort between ISRO, the North Eastern Council, and the state governments of the Northeast.
Over several batches, the students were given a comprehensive overview of ISRO’s operations. They visited the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) and the Indian Deep Space Network (IDSN), where they interacted with senior scientists and learned about deep space communications. At the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), they gained insights into satellite integration and testing processes. The visit concluded with a film on the Gaganyaan mission at the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium, showcasing India’s ambition to send humans into space.
“The NE-SPARKS program is designed to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,” stated an ISRO official. “By giving these students direct access to our facilities and experts, we hope to spark their interest in space exploration and encourage them to pursue careers in STEM fields.”
The program was conceptualized following directives from Union Home Minister and President of the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) Society, Amit Shah. ISRO is also gearing up for its next major U.S. collaboration with the launch of the BlueBird communications satellite, and the failure analysis of the PSLV-C61/EOS-09 mission has been completed and the report will be submitted to the PM soon, according to ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan.
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