Modi government approves Venus Orbiter Mission to study the nearest planet, Chandrayaan 4 approved ahead of manned mission to moon

The 'Venus Orbiter Mission’ to be accomplished by the Department of Space is envisaged to orbit a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of planet Venus for a better understanding of the Venusian surface and subsurface, atmospheric processes and influence of the Sun on the Venusian atmosphere.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the development of the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), which will be a significant step towards the government’s vision of exploring and studying the planet Venus and extending India’s space mission beyond the Moon and Mars. In addition to this, the Centre has also approved the Chandrayaan 4 mission following the success of the Chandrayaan 3 mission.

An official release said that Venus, the closest planet to Earth and believed to have formed in conditions similar to Earth, offers a unique opportunity to understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently. The ‘Venus Orbiter Mission’ to be accomplished by the Department of Space is envisaged to orbit a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of planet Venus for a better understanding of the Venusian surface and subsurface, atmospheric processes and influence of the Sun on the Venusian atmosphere.

The study of the underlying causes of transformation of Venus, which is believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth would be an invaluable aid in understanding the evolution of the sister planets, both Venus and Earth, the release stated.

ISRO will be responsible for the development and launch of the spacecraft. The Project will be effectively managed and monitored through the established practices prevailing at ISRO. The data generated from the mission would be disseminated to the scientific community through existing mechanisms The mission is expected to be accomplished on the opportunity available during March 2028.

The Indian Venus mission is expected to answer some of the outstanding scientific questions resulting in various scientific outcomes. The realization of the spacecraft and launch vehicle is through various industries and it is envisaged that there would be large employment potential and technology spin-off to other sectors of the economy.

The total fund approved for the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), is ₹1,236 Crore, out of which ₹824.00 Crore will be spent on the spacecraft. The cost includes the development and realization of the spacecraft including its specific payloads and technology elements, global ground station support cost for navigation and network as well as the cost of the launch vehicle, it added.

The mission would enable India for future planetary missions with larger payloads, and optimal orbit insertion approaches. There would be a significant involvement of Indian Industry during the development of the spacecraft and launch vehicle. The involvement of various academic institutions and training to students in the pre-launch phase including design, development, testing, test data reduction, calibration etc. is also envisaged. The mission through its unique instruments offers the Indian Science community new and valuable science data thereby providing emerging and novel opportunities.

Centre approves Chandrayaan 4 Mission

In another major development, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved another mission to the moon, named Chandrayaan 4, to develop and demonstrate the technologies to return to Earth after successfully landing on the Moon and also collect moon samples and analyse them on Earth.

Addressing reporters in the national capital today, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “Chandrayaan 4 mission has been expanded to add more elements. The next step is to get the manned mission to the Moon. All preparatory steps towards this have been approved. Venus Orbiter Mission, Gaganyaan follow-on and Bharatiya Antariksh Station and Next Generation Launch Vehicle development also given approval.”

The PM Modi-led government has earmarked ₹2,104 crore for the same. Further, a schedule of 36 months has been set for the mission completion. The Chandrayaan 4 mission will achieve the foundational technologies and capabilities eventually for an Indian landing on the moon (planned by the year 2040) and return safely back to Earth.

Major technologies that are required for docking/undocking, landing, safe return to earth and also accomplish lunar sample collection and analysis would be demonstrated.

The Central Government has outlined an expanded vision for the Indian space programme during the Amrit Kaal that envisages an Indian Space Station (Bharatiya Antariksh Station) by 2035 and an Indian Landing on the Moon by 2040. To realise this vision, a series of Gaganyaan and Chandrayaan follow-on missions are envisaged including the development of associated space transportation and infrastructure capabilities.

The successful demonstration of the safe and smooth landing of the Chandrayaan-3 Lander on the Lunar Surface has developed critical technologies and proven capabilities that only a few nations have. The perfect follow-up to the successful landing mission is the demonstration of the capacity to collect lunar samples and safely return them to Earth. ISRO will be responsible for spacecraft development and launch. The project would be effectively managed and monitored under ISRO’s established practices. The mission is scheduled to be completed within 36 months of approval.

As per the official press release, the total fund requirement for the technology demonstration mission “Chandrayaan 4” is ₹ 2,104.06 Crore. The cost includes spacecraft development and realization, two launch vehicle missions of LVM3, external deep space network support and conducting special tests for design validation, finally leading to the mission of landing on the moon’s surface and safe return to Earth along with the collected lunar sample. The mission would enable India to be self-sufficient in critical foundational technologies for manned missions, lunar sample return and scientific analysis of Lunar samples.