Question: India has planned a Venus orbiter mission named as Shukrayaan. According to ISRO Future launch opportunity for the Shukrayaan mission is either in-
a) 2028
b) 2029
c) 2024 or 2026
d) 2030
Answer: (c)
Related Facts:
- India has planned a Venus orbiter mission named as Shukrayaan.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was earlier eyeing June, 2023 for the country’s first mission to Venus.
- ISRO now cleared that due to COVID-19 pandemic ,the mission may be delayed.
- ISRO has informed that the Future launch opportunity for the Shukrayaan mission is either in 2024 or 2026.
- It should be noted that the optimal launch window (when Venus is closest to the Earth) comes about every 19 months.
- ISRO has short-listed 20 space-based experiment proposals, including from France, for its proposed Venus orbiter mission ‘Shukrayaan’.
- These space based experiments will be conducted by the Shukrayaan to study the planet for more than four years.
- These include collaborative contributions from Russia, France, Sweden and Germany.
- Sweden is getting on board India’s Venus orbiter mission ‘Shukrayaan’ with a scientific instrument to explore the planet.
- Ambassador of Sweden to India, Klas Molin said Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) is engaged in the venture, its second collaborative project with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
- IRF’s satellite instrument Venusian Neutrals Analyzer (VNA) will study how the charged particles from the Sun interact with the atmosphere and exosphere of the planet.
- One was a detector for energetic neutral atoms and the other was an instrument to measure the flow of ions in the solar wind.
- The instrument studied how the plasma around the Moon interacts with the moon where the surface is not protected by an atmosphere or a magnetic field. According to French space agency CNES, France’s VIRAL instrument (Venus Infrared Atmospheric Gas Linker) will fly on Shukrayaan.
- VIRAL has been co-developed with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and the LATMOS atmospheres, environments and space observations laboratory attached to the French national scientific research centre CNRS.
Scientific objectives of ISRO’s Venus mission:
The orbiter will investigate-
- The Venusian surface processes, and its shallow subsurface stratigraphy.
- Interaction of the Solar wind with Venusian Ionosphere.
- Composition and dynamics of the atmosphere and its structure.
Venus and the Earth:-
- Venus is often described as the twin sister of the Earth because of the similarities in size, mass, density, bulk composition and gravity.
- It is believed that both planets share a common origin, forming at the same time out of a condensing nebulosity around 4.5 billion years ago,.
- Venus is around 30 per cent closer to the Sun as compared to Earth resulting in much higher solar flux.
- Exploration of Venus began in the early 1960s.
- Until now Venus has been explored by flyby, orbiter, a few lander missions and atmospheric probes.
By – Rajesh Tripathi
Links:-
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/sweden-getting-on-board-indias-venus-mission-with-payload-to-explore-planet/article33176322.ece
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/sweden-isro-venus-mission-explore-planet-1743910-2020-11-25
https://www.oneindia.com/india/shukrayaan-india-s-proposed-venus-mission-attracts-international-payload-proposals-3180076.html