In News: P. Sreekumar, the Satish Dhawan Professor at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and advisor to its space science programme, said that the organisation is yet to receive approval from the Indian government for the Venus mission and that the mission could as a result be postponed to 2031.
ISRO had originally hoped to launch Shukrayaan I in mid-2023 but cited the pandemic when it pushed the date to December 2024.
Optimal launch windows from Earth to Venus occur once around every 19 months.
But even more optimal windows, which further reduce the amount of fuel required at liftoff, come around every eight years.
Both the U.S. and the European space agencies have Venus missions planned for 2031 — referring to VERITAS and EnVision
Shukrayaan I or the Venus mission:
It will be an orbitermission i.e. a spacecraft designed to orbit a celestial body without landing on its surface
The spaceship, GSLV Mark II will be used to launch the mission with a launch mass of 2,500 kg.
Its scientific payloads currently include a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and a ground-penetrating radar.
It will be the first Venus orbiter to carry a sub-surface radar or ground-penetrating radar. It is used for imaging the subsurface of the target, in this case, a planet, using radar pulses. It means that the investigation method for the study of asphalt, metals, etc, of ISRO’s Venus orbiter will be non-intrusive.
The mission is expected to study Venus’s geological and volcanic activity, emissions on the ground, wind speed, cloud cover, and other planetary characteristics from an elliptical orbit.
It will help uncover the mysteries hidden beneath the sulfuric acid clouds that surround the planet and explore the surface and atmosphere of Venus in relation to the Sun and the Earth.
In the year 2020, scientists announced that they have detected Phosphine (a life-friendly element indicative of possible life on the planet) in the atmosphere of Venus. ‘Shukrayaan-I’ will also bring with it some instruments that will examine infrared, ultraviolet and submillimeter wavelengths to study the claims more deeply.
