Eyeing on Venus, ISRO plans to lunch orbiter mission 'Shukrayaan' in Dec 2024
06 May 2022 16:03:41
New Delhi, May 06: After the major success of Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, the Indian Space Research Orgnisation (ISRO), is planning its mission to orbit Venus, 'Shukrayaan-I', in December 2024. As per reports, under this mission, ISRO is readying a spacecraft to orbit Venus to study what lies below the surface of the hottest planet in the solar system and unravel the mysteries under the sulfuric Acid cloud enveloping it.
Addressing a day-long meeting on Venusian science, ISRO Chairman S Somnath said the Venus mission has been conceived, a project report has been made and money has been identified and urged scientists to focus on high impact outcomes.
"Building and putting a mission on Venus is possible for India in a very short space of time, as the capability today exists with India," Somnath said in his inaugural address.
The space agency is eyeing the December 2024 window for launch with orbital maneuvers planned for the following year when earth and Venus would be so aligned that the spacecraft could be put in the neighboring planet's orbit using a minimum amount of propellant. The next similar window would be available in 2031.
A key instrument on the spacecraft will be the high-resolution synthetic aperture radar to examine the Venusian surface, which is covered by dense clouds that make it impossible to view the planet's surface.
"No prior observation of the sub-surface of Venus has been done. So, we will be flying the sub-surface radar for the first time. It will penetrate the sub-surface of Venus up to a few hundred meters," T Maria Antonita, Space Science Programme Officer, ISRO, said in her presentation at the virtual meet. The mission will also bring an instrument to Venus to examine the planet's atmosphere in infrared, ultraviolet, and submillimeter wavelengths, she said.
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