After Moon and Mars, India sights science goals on Venus

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the development of the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), which will be a significant step towards the Government's vision of exploring and studying Venus, beyond the moon and mars. 

Venus, the closest planet to Earth and believed to have formed in conditions similar to Earth, offers a unique opportunity to understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently.

The "Venus Orbiter Mission to be accomplished by Department of Space is envisaged to orbit a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of planet Venus for better understanding of the Venusian surface and subsurface, atmospheric processes and influence of Sun on the Venusian atmosphere. The study of the underlying causes of the transformation of Venus, which is believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth would be an invaluable aid in understanding the evolution of the sister planets, both Venus and Earth.

ISRO will be responsible for the development of the spacecraft and its launch. The Project will be effectively managed and monitored through the established practices prevailing at ISRO. The data generated from the mission would be disseminated to the scientific community through existing mechanisms.

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The mission is expected to be accomplished on the opportunity available during March 2028. The Indian Venus mission is expected to answer some of the outstanding scientific questions resulting in various scientific outcomes. The realization of the spacecraft and launch vehicle is through various industries and it is envisaged that there would be large employment potential and technology spin-off to other sectors of the economy.

The total fund approved for the Venus Orbiter Mission" (VOM), is Rs. 1236 Cr out of which Rs 824.00 Crore will be spent on the spacecraft. The cost includes the development and realization of the spacecraft including its specific payloads and technology elements, global ground station support cost for navigation and network as well as the cost of launch vehicle.

Journey towards Venus

The mission would enable India for future planetary missions with larger payloads, optimal orbit insertion approaches. There would be a significant involvement of Indian Industry during the development of the spacecraft and launch vehicle. The involvement of various academic institutions and training to students in pre-launch phase that includes design, development, testing, test data reduction, calibration etc. is also envisaged. The mission through its unique instruments offers the Indian Science community new and valuable science data and thereby providing emerging and novel opportunities.