Shukrayaan

Shukrayaan

#GS-03 Science and Technology

For Prelims

Shukrayaan

  • Shukrayaan is ISRO’s mission to Venus with an aim to study Venus’ atmosphere, which is toxic and corrosive in nature as clouds of sulfuric acid cover the planet.
  • The orbiter, is expected to have a science payload capability of approximately 100 kilograms with 500 W available power.
  • The orbiter is planned to be launched onboard a GSLV Mk II.
  • Shukrayaan I, was expected to be launched in December 2024 but mission could be postponed to 2031 due to budget concerns.

Its Mission

The key objectives of its mission are

  • The investigation of surface process and shallow subsurface stratigraphy since no observation of the sub-surface of Venus has been done prior to now.
  • Study the structure, composition and dynamics of the atmosphere of Venus in infrared, ultraviolet, and submillimetre
  • Investigating interaction of Solar winds with the Venusian ionosphere.

Earlier Missions to Venus

  • NASA’s Mariner 2 was the first spacecraft to do a successful fly by past another planet on 14 December 1962.
  • Soviet Union’s Venera 4 in 12 June 1967 conducted the first successful atmospheric entry in Venus.
  • Soviet Union’s Venera 7 on 17 August 1970 conducted the first soft landing on another planet.
  • Soviet Union’s Venera 9 was the first orbiter of Venus and first to capture images from the surface of another planet.

Venus

  • Venus is the second planet from the Sun in distance and sixth largest and heaviest in the solar system.
  • It is also the second brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon and the first planet to have its motions plotted across the sky.
  • Venus like Uranus spin clockwise on their axis unlike the other planets in our solar system.
  • It takes Venus longer to rotate once on its axis than to complete one orbit around the Sun which means a day on Venus is longer than a year.
  • It is the closest large celestial body to Earth other than the Moon and is similar in mass, size, and density and relative position in the solar system to earth..

Source “ISRO likely to push Venus mission ‘Shukrayaan I’ to 2031

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