Science City theatre gets advanced laser light projector devices for 6.5 crore
Times of India | 13 March 2026
Kolkata: The full dome 3D digital theatre at Science City has been upgraded.
From the traditional lamp based projection device, it has transitioned to the Christie true RGB laser light sources. The upgradation was done at Rs 6.5 crore. These advanced devices offer significant advantages in performance, maintenance, and reliability.
The theatre had switched from celluloid based 2D projection to 3D facility about seven years back. That time, the upgrade was done at a cost of Rs 20 crore.
"We have the best 3D theatre in the country," National Council of Science Museums, director general, AD Chaudhury, said. He mentioned this during the preview screening of ‘One Step Beyond: A Journey to Mars', an award wining movie.
The 25 minute, 3D animation film, has been produced by UK based NSC Creative. It follows a futuristic space crew's journey to the Mars. It is depicted through the perspective of ‘Ziggy', which is a toy astronaut.
It also turns the spotlight on NASA's Artemis programme technologies. It also highlights the hurdles of deep space travel and the hunt for life.
The Indian Space Research Organisation plans a soft landing on Mars with its interplanetary mission Mangalyaan-2 by 2030. Mangalyaan was launched in 2013. It entered Martian orbit the next year. The mission studied the Martian atmosphere and the planet's surface.
Goutam Chattopadhyay, a senior scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech, California, said he hoped the film would make students curious.
The scientist, who also attended the screening, said he hopes that the film would inspire the children to explore the subject.
"NASA, in association with global and commercial partners, is developing the Gateway, which is the first space station to revolve around the Moon. The preliminary plan is in place. It will act as a staging point for Artemis lunar surface missions. Also, it will be a hub for deep space exploration in a unique near rectilinear halo orbit," he said.
"The quest to reach Mars is for scientific exploration. It is not for colonization," he added. The new film replaces ‘Voyager: The Never-Ending Journey'. "The film has a screen resolution of nearly 30 million pixels, offering an immersive visual experience," said Science City director, Pramod Grover.