Ahmedabad (PTI): Gujaratis can now book their 'Mission to Mars' ticket, not literally, but virtually, after the dedication of the Hall of Space at the Gujarat Council of Science City (GCSC) to the nation on Sunday.

Along with the Hall of Space, the Hall of Science, another exhibit, which will also become open for public, will provide a hands-on experience to visitors and help learn science through a process of discovery.

The leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, L K Advani will inagurate them and dedicate it to the country on Sunday evening.

Both the Halls, which are spread across 20,000 sq feet area were built at a cost of Rs 20 crore. It took a dedicated team of experts more than two years to complete the exhibition, which is the largest of its kind in the country.

"This is for the first time in India that an exhibition on space and science of this magnitude has been set up which will allow the visitiors to discover science themselves. They will turn the handles, press the buttons, look through peep holes, perform experiments and be amazed at their own capabilities of making things work," said advisor to Gujarat Science City, Dr Saroj Ghose, who conceptualised the two halls.

One of the major attractions in the Hall of Space is the 'Mission to Mars', which uses virtual reality and simulators to give an out of the world experience to the visitors.

"The Mission to Mars is divided into two stages -- the motion simulator and event simulator. The motion simulator makes you experience what an astronaut feels inside a space shuttle," said Ghose.

He said just like any other space mission, the 'Mission to Mars' will have the visitors seated in a space shuttle like simulator, where they will experience what an astronaut would feel during a mission.

"The sequence will start with the take-off of the shuttle, which will then enter space orbit and go round the Earth, shoot out towards Venus for a gravity boost, zig-zag through the astroid belt, fly by Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, get trapped in a churning motion on the outer periphery of a massive Black Hole, escape and return back to land safely on Mars," Ghose said.

After landing, the visitors will walk on an artificially created Mars surface, enter into a Mars station and perform experiments to find traces of life on the planet before returning back to Earth, added Ghose.

"This is not a typical exhibit or museum. It is not a "don't touch" exhibition. This is an open laboratory, where people can have hands-on experience by being a part of the scientific experiment," said Ghose, who has been the Head of the National Council for Science and Museum, and also has been associated with GCSC since 2001.

According to Ghose, the Hall of Space will have a rich display of various space flights, exciting images taken by the Hubble telescope, achievements of Indian space programme, scale models of Indian satellites and launch vehicles and a special exhibit on India's future mission to moon -- Chandrayaan.

Besides, one can also experience loss of weight while hopping on the Moon surface control space flight, measure one's weight on other planets of the solar system and participate in a space quiz to test their knowledge, Ghose added.

If one has had enough of the virtual world, he can move on to the real world in the Hall of Science, where the mysteries of science will be unrevealed.

"This is an upgraded version of the Hall of Science we had earlier. It has lot more exhibits -- from simple mechanics to the more complex fluid dynamics. We have everything on board," said Ghose, who is based in Kolkata and can't stop working even ten years after retirement.

"The Hall of Science assures visitors experiences that are full of fantasy and excitement. It enables the visitor to discover science by themselves. Here, they can learn about conservation of energy, how mathematics can be fun and understand how magic is nothing but combination of tricks and pure science," added Ghose.

GCSC was established by the Gujarat government in 2003 under the ministry of science and technology. According to offical records, nearly six lakh people visit the Science City every year. The authorities here are expecting these number to double once the Hall of Space and Hall of Science become functional.

Talking about the future plans for the Science city, Ghose said, "We are working on 'Planet Earth'. It will be a big doom like structure which will exhibit the secrets of life on Earth. It's again a challenging project, which is expected to be completed in two years."