17-Jan-2023: ISRO's Venus mission, Shukrayaan I, may be postponed to 2031
ISRO's Venus mission, Shukrayaan I, may be postponed to 2031
Causes of Delay: Pandemic, manufacturing delays, commercial launch commitments
Optimal Launch Windows
- Occur once every 19 months
- Backup dates in 2026 and 2028
- 2031 window is considered very good
Mission: Orbiter mission with high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and a ground-penetrating radar
Objectives
- Investigation of surface process and subsurface stratigraphy
- Study of atmosphere
- Investigation of Solar wind interaction with Venusian ionosphere
Significance
- Helps learn how Earth-like planets evolve
- Modelling Earth's climate
- Understanding how a planet's climate can change
Previous Missions Sent to Venus
- Mariner series
- Pioneer Venus 1 and 2
- Venera series
- Magellan
- Vegas 1 and 2
- Venus Express
- Akatsuki
About Venus
- Named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty
- Second planet from the Sun and sixth in size and mass
- Second brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon
- Closest large body to Earth other than the Moon
- Called Earth's twin because of similarities in mass, size, and density
- Spins clockwise on its axis
- Hottest planet in the solar system
- Longer day than year taken to orbit the sun.
- Has 90 times the atmospheric pressure of Earth.