India's Venus Orbiter Mission 'Shukrayaan' to be carried out in 2031?
ISRO is expected to have a busy schedule in 2023 with big-ticket missions such as Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1
India's first interplanetary mission 'Mangalyaan' (Mars vehicle) was launched in 2013 and became the world's first-ever mission to enter Martian orbit in the maiden attempt, back in 2014. Since then, there have been mentions of India's follow-up Mars mission and also a mission to Venus. In 2022, it was revealed in the Indian Parliament that the Venus mission was being conceptualised and that feasibility studies were being carried out. However, it appears that the mission is likely to be performed only at the start of the following decade.
At a recent event hosted by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, P Sreekumar of the Space Science Programme Office, ISRO, had elaborated that the Venus mission was aimed at studying the Venusian atmosphere, mapping surface topography, using radar to probe the surface and understanding the Venus-Sun interaction.
On the most intriguing questions about Venus, he stated, "What makes Earth's twin Venus lose most of its water? Greenhouse effect? The surface composition of Venus is unknown as there are thick clouds at an altitude of 60 kilometres. What causes high-velocity winds at a slow-rotating planet? What is the unknown absorber of UV in the Venus clouds? Is there lightning on Venus?"
Tracing the work of the Venus mission plan, Sreekumar mentioned that the first meeting where the Venus mission was proposed was conducted back in 2012. On the current status of the mission, he stated "Now, we're waiting for formal approval and money...otherwise, all set to go...the mission was originally scheduled for launch in 2023 and the opportunity(favourable orbital alignment, proximity conditions) to undertake a Venus mission occurs once in 19 months. Right now, the 2031 window looks good" he said.
He added that 2031 would be the year when NASA and European Space Agency would also be landing their missions on Venus, whereas China could attempt their mission sometime in 2026-27. The proposed NASA missions are called Davinci+ and Veritas, while the European mission is known as EnVision.
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ISRO is expected to have a busy schedule in 2023 with big-ticket missions such as Chandrayaan-3 (3rdLunar mission), Aditya-L1(mission to study sun), a host of commercial launches, launches of the new SSLV rocket and major test launches as part of the Gaganyaan Human Spaceflight programme.
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