Planetarium in Kalpana Chawla's memory

Chandigarh A planetarium costing Rs 65 million is being set up in Haryana in the memory of astronaut Kalpana Chawla and will become functional this year.

The planetarium is being built at the historic town of Kurukshetra in Haryana, Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan said on Monday.

"The planetarium will be functional within the first quarter of the 2007-08 financial year," he said.

The structure will have a 12-metre dome with a seating capacity of 120 people.

Kalpana Chawla, the Indian born American citizen who an astronaut with US' National Aeronautics and Space Administation (NASA) and space shuttle mission specialist, was born and brought up in Karnal town of Haryana.

She was killed with other astronauts when their reusable spacecraft - Columbia - disintegrated on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere Feb 1, 2003.

Chawla had maintained her liaison with her hometown and school in Karnal by sponsoring and inviting two students from the institution to visit the NASA space facility at Cape Canaveral (Florida) in the United States every year.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)