ISRO sets the date for Mission Venus: March 29, 2028

Bengaluru: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has unveiled plans for its groundbreaking Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), with a launch date set for March 29, 2028. This ambitious project, cleared by the Union Cabinet alongside the Chandrayaan-4 mission on September 18, aims to unravel the mysteries of Earth’s nearest planetary neighbour.

ISRO’s Launch Vehicle Mark-3 (LVM-3) will carry the orbiter on its 112-day journey to Venus, with arrival at its final orbit scheduled for July 19, 2028. The Rs-1,236 crore mission will deploy an array of scientific instruments, including 16 Indian payloads, two Indian-international collaborative payloads, and one international payload.

The spacecraft is designed to enter an elliptical parking orbit around Venus, ranging from 170 km to 36,000 km above the planet’s surface. VOM’s primary objectives include high-resolution mapping of Venus’s surface topography and studying the solar X-ray spectrum in the planet’s vicinity. The mission will also explore Venus’s atmosphere and its interaction with the Sun.

ISRO views VOM as a crucial technology demonstration, testing aerobraking and thermal management techniques in Venus’s harsh environment. The mission features international collaborations, including the Russian-developed Venus InfraRed Atmospheric gases Linker (VIRAL) and partnerships with Swedish and German teams for other instruments.

Following orbit injection, ISRO plans to use aerobraking for six to eight months to achieve the desired 200 x 600 km orbit. From this vantage point, VOM will conduct scientific studies for five years, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of Venus and advancing India’s space exploration capabilities.