The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is preparing for its upcoming ventures in deep space exploration, focusing on missions to Venus and the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat). After the successful Aditya-L1 solar mission and Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, ISRO is now preparing to uncover the secrets of our neighboring planets and beyond.
isro venus mission
Speaking at the Indian National Science Academy in Delhi recently, ISRO Chairman S Somnath revealed that the Venus mission is fully configured, with the required payloads developed for the ambitious endeavour, The Times of India reported. Has gone. Venus, often called Earth’s twin because of its similar size and density, presents interesting challenges. Its atmosphere is incredibly dense, its atmospheric pressure is 100 times that of Earth and it is full of acidic compounds, the news agency quoted him as saying.
Somnath stressed the importance of understanding Venus and Mars to study the factors affecting Earth’s habitability, Deccan Herald reported. The report said the discovery of these planets could provide valuable insights into the evolution of planetary bodies and help understand the conditions that make a planet habitable or non-habitable.
Many countries, including the European Space Agency, Japan and NASA, have previously conducted missions to Venus. ISRO plans to launch its Venus mission in December 2024, using minimal propellant to align the spacecraft’s orbit with Venus during the next year. This unique opportunity arises due to the specific alignment of Earth and Venus, a configuration that will not occur again until 2031.
Exposat mission
Apart from the Venus mission, ISRO is also planning an X-ray Polarimeter Satellite, also known as EXPOSat, S Somnath said, The Times of India reported. The organization is working on a satellite called Exoworlds, which is designed to observe exo-solar planets – planets outside our solar system – orbiting distant stars. Somnath highlighted that there are more than 5,000 known exo-planets, of which at least 100 have atmospheres.
ISRO’s future missions
Somnath also shared information about ISRO’s future plans, revealing that the Mars Lander Mission is in the conceptual stage. Although details are scarce at this point, ISRO’s vision includes not only our neighboring planets but also the possibility of exploring the surface of Mars in the coming years.
(Edited by: Sudarshan Mani)
