Pune Becomes Home To India’s First Digistar 2025-Equipped Planetarium
Pune Becomes Home To India’s First Digistar 2025-Equipped Planetarium
Pune, August 11, 2025: Pune has become home to India’s first Digistar 2025-backed planetarium, inaugurated at Adarsh Shikshan Mandali’s (ASM) Abhinava Primary School in Erandwane. The facility, named Dr Nanasaheb Upasani Planetarium, opened to the public on Sunday, offering an advanced immersive astronomy experience.
The planetarium was officially inaugurated earlier on April 30 by Arvind Paranjpye, Director of Nehru Planetarium, Mumbai, along with former ISRO Group Director Suresh Naik and other dignitaries.
Equipped with the latest Digistar 2025 projection system from Evans and Sutherland, USA, the planetarium delivers a 360-degree, real-sky-like theatrical experience — the first of its kind in the country. “Being aligned with the National Education Policy 2020, this facility will spark curiosity among students and support research in astronomy,” said Paranjpye.
The project is the vision of Sudheer Upasani, designed to make learning science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) engaging and interactive. It seats 50 visitors and can access shows from ISRO, NASA, and European Space Agency, along with live dome-casting and built-in show creation software.
Funded entirely through a donation from the Vidyalakshmi Foundation, managed by the family of late educationist Dr Nanasaheb Upasani, the initiative also includes a weekly planetarium session for ASM students from Classes 5 to 8, and the launch of a dedicated astronomy club.
A public booking system will soon be available via a dedicated website, allowing weekend show reservations.
