Context
Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the development of Venus Orbiter Mission
About Shukrayaan-1/ Venus Orbiter Mission:
- Mission: ISRO’s first mission to Venus, weighing 2500 kg.
- Objective: To study Venus’s surface and the layers beneath its sulfuric acid clouds.
- Launch Vehicle: GSLV Mk II.
- Payloads: Equipped with high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and ground-penetrating radar.
- Objectives of Shukrayaan-1
- Study Venus’s surface & atmosphere: Penetrate dense atmosphere to understand weathering, erosion, and geological phenomena.
- Investigate Venus’s largely unexplored geological history.
- Examine how solar radiation interacts with Venus’s surface particles to understand planetary evolution.
- Challenges for Shukrayaan-1
- Extreme Temperature: Venus’s average surface temperature exceeds 460°C, risking damage to spacecraft components.
- Atmospheric Pressure: Venus’s surface pressure is 90 times greater than Earth, posing challenges for landers.
- Sulfuric Acid Rain: Corrosive clouds produce sulfuric acid rain, damaging materials like titanium and stainless steel.
- Power Systems: Dense clouds reduce sunlight, making solar panels ineffective; alternatives like RTGs have their own challenges.
- Communication: Thick atmosphere and reflective clouds hinder radio communications with Earth.
Other Global Missions to Venus
| Mission | Country/Agency | Year | Objectives/Details |
| Venera Series | Soviet Union | 1961-1984 | Successful flybys, orbiters, landers, and balloons sent to Venus. |
| Pioneer Venus | USA | 1978 | Studied atmospheric composition, temperature, and surface using radar mapping. |
| Magellan | NASA | 1989 | Used radar to map Venus’s surface, gathering geological data over four years. |
| Akatsuki | JAXA (Japan) | 2010 | Studied atmospheric circulation on Venus using infrared cameras. |
| VERITAS | NASA | 2026 (Planned) | Radar imaging to study Venus’s geology. |
| DAVINCI | NASA | 2026 (Planned) | Study Venus’s atmosphere using a descent sphere. |
| EnVision | ESA (European Space Agency) | 2030s (Planned) | High-resolution radar imaging for surface and geological studiesof Venus. |
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Previous Year Question
The experiment will employ a trio of spacecraft flying in formation in the shape of an equilateral triangle that has sides one million kilometers long, with lasers shining between the craft.” The experiment in question refers to
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2020 Prelims]
(a) Voyager-2
(b) New Horizons
(c) LISA Pathfinder
(d) Evolved LISA
Answer: (d)
