New Delhi

The Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), S Somnath, announced on Tuesday (Sept 26) that India has configured its mission to Venus, the brightest planet in the solar system.

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The announcement marks a significant milestone in India's space exploration endeavours following the success of the moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 in August this year.

Addressing the Indian National Science Academy in Delhi, Somnath stated, "We have numerous missions in the conceptual phase, and a mission to Venus has already been configured, with its payloads already developed."

Why studying Venus is important?

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The ISRO chief said that studying Venus, given its planetary attributes such as a dense atmosphere, high atmospheric pressure, acidic conditions, and an enigmatic surface, will be crucial for the field of space sciences.

Also read | Scientists finally know what the mysterious flashes of light on Venus really are

"Venus is a very interesting planet. It also has an atmosphere. Its atmosphere is so thick. The atmospheric pressure is 100 times that of Earth and it is full of acids. You cannot penetrate the surface. You don't know if its surface is hard or not. Why are we trying to understand all of this? Earth could be one day Venus. I don't know. Maybe 10,000 years later we (Earth) change our characteristics. Earth was never like this. It was not a habitable place long long back," Somnath said.

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Venus, Earth's closest neighbour in the solar system, shares similarities in size and density, earning it the nickname "Earth's twin."

Also watch | Gravitas Plus: ISRO's Next Big Projects Will Blow Your Mind | Sun, Venus, and Beyond | Watch

Notably, other space agencies, such as the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan's Akatsuki Venus Climate Orbiter, and NASA, have also conducted missions to explore Venus.

NASA, in particular, has plans for future Venus missions in 2029, 2030, and 2031, building on its previous flyby missions.

ISRO's recent achievements, including the launch of the Aditya L1 spacecraft to study the Sun, underscore India's growing presence in space exploration.

Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space-based observatory to study the Sun from a halo orbit around the first Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L1), located roughly 1.5 million km from Earth.

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