ISRO's first Venus mission is not yet approved because the spacecraft design has not been finalised

New Delhi: Space Minister Jitendra Singh has responded to a question posed in the Rajya Sabha on the status of the Shukrayaan mission by noting that the “study on Venus Orbiter Mission is in progress and project is in planning stage. Timeline and Cost will be firmed up once the studies are completed and configuration is finalised.”

Following the incredible success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission that demonstrated ISRO’s capabilities for delivering a payload to the lunar surface at the time and place of its choosing, ISRO’s planetary science missions became even more ambitious.

ISRO has announced plans for a follow-up mission to Mars, and its first mission to Venus, dubbed Shukrayaan-1. Following the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President of India had remarked in the Rajya Sabha, “Following its successful missions to explore the Sun and the Moon, ISRO has an array of exciting future endeavours. I am delighted to know that it is now setting its sights on the second most scorching planet in our solar system, Venus. Shrukrayaan-1, ISRO’s upcoming spacecraft, will likely be launched by the end of December 2024.

Our scientists and engineers have meticulously crafted Shukrayaan-1 to withstand the extreme conditions of Venus and to operate under the most challenging circumstances.”

Goals of Shukrayaan

ISRO is designing the Shukrayaan mission as an orbiter, that will explore the surface topography of Venus which is shrouded beneath a thick and toxic atmosphere, carefully examine Venusian dust, study the volcanism on the planet, and peer into the clouds of Venus to better understand the ongoing processes in the alien atmosphere. The spacecraft will also track the super rotation of the Venusian atmosphere, and capture data to better understand the impact of solar activity on Venus. As such, the spacecraft is being designed to conduct a comprehensive study of Venus.

Agencies