Isro's Shukrayaan mission approved: All about India's Venus Orbiter Mission

Isro received approval for its first Venus mission, Shukrayaan. The probe will undertake a detailed investigation of Venus, including its surface, atmosphere and geological structure

Isro's Shukrayaan mission: The director of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), Nilesh Desai, revealed that the Venus Orbiting satellite project, Shukrayaan, has received government approval and is set to launch in 2028.

 

He also stated that Chandrayaan 4, the follow-up mission of Chandrayaan 3, has also been proposed which will not only land on the moon but will also return with soil and rock samples. 

Chandrayaan-4 will be a joint mission

The next Chandrayaan mission will be a joint project between India and Japan. Revealing the space agency’s Chandrayaan 4 ambitions, Desai said that it will consist of two missions. The top Isro official said that the mission will involve India and Japan collaborating to land on the moon's south pole at 90 degrees south as compared to its last attempt which was 69.3 degrees south. 

 

 

"We have not yet received the government's approval for the mission. The rover as a part of the mission will weigh 350 kg, which is 12 times heavier than the previous rover. If we get the government's nod, we will be able to execute the mission by 2030," Desai was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

 

He also talked about the ongoing discussions going on about the sensors and satellites which will be launched as part of the INSAT 4 series. Desai mentioned that the world is one generation ahead of us and we need to catch up with these new sensors which help in improving forecasts as well as the new meteorological and oceanographic sensors. 

Desai on Gaganyaan Mission

The Isro Director also talked about Mars exploration plans. The Indian scientists are not only planning to put satellites in Mars orbit but will attempt to land on its surface with Gaganyaan set to launch in two years. “It will be an unmanned flight after which we will launch a manned flight. The government has also approved to construct India's space station. It will not be as big as the ISS but will have five modules. We will launch the first module in 2028 and India's space station will be ready by 2035. As a part of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to land on the moon by 2040, our space station will function as a transit facility en route," Desai added. 

What is the Venus Orbiter Mission?

Shukrayaan is scheduled to investigate Venus which is believed to be similar to Earth in many aspects. The investigation will reveal the surface of the planet, its atmosphere and geological structure. To be inserted in orbit around Venus, the spacecraft will attempt to gather essential information about the planet's weather patterns, potential geological activities, and atmospheric elements. The spacecraft will utilise advanced scientific equipment for these observations.

 

This mission will help scientists to further understand Venus's dense cloud cover that is made up of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid. It will also check for evidence of volcanic formations.

 

To study Venus's ionosphere, the satellite is equipped with synthetic aperture radar, infrared and ultraviolet imaging devices, and other specialised equipment. 

 

Though Nasa denies the probability of life on Venus, it also maintains the possibility of microscopic organisms existing in the upper atmospheric layers of Venus, where the pressure is similar to Earth's surface condition. Currently, the Shukrayaan-1 is under development, and Isro is yet to announce the specific launch timing and mission specifications. 

What’s special about Isro’s Shukrayaan-1 mission?

Emphasising on the importance of Shukryaan-1, Isro said the earlier missions to Venus had limited and narrow spatial coverage in either South-polar region or equatorial belt. “Hence it is difficult to build global maps of many phenomena, including winds, waves, and chemical abundances. Venus Orbiter Mission would provide uniform coverage of Venus, thus providing a unique global dataset for future science missions,” says Isro website.

 

The data received from the Venus Orbiter Mission will be received, processed and archived at the Indian Space Science Data Center (ISSDC) for dissemination and use by the scientific community in India and abroad.

 

Venus Orbiter is planned to be launched in March 2028 and will cost approximately Rs 1,236 crore, claims Isro. The space agency said it had identified LVM-3 as the candidate launch vehicle which will place the spacecraft in an Elliptical Parking Orbit (EPO) of 170 km x 36000 km