Having secured two consecutive successes in sending missions to the Moon and Mars, India now plans to reach Venus, as the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the development of the Venus Orbiter Mission, or VOM. The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the mission to Venus for scientific exploration.
The mission, expected to be launched in March 2028, will help unravel the "Venusian atmosphere, geology, and generate large amounts of science data probing into its thick atmosphere," according to a Cabinet communique.
The Cabinet has also "approved a fund of Rs 1,236 crore for the VOM, of which Rs 824 crore will be spent on the spacecraft".
"The cost includes 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," the Cabinet said.
Venus is the closest planet to Earth and is considered to have formed in conditions like those of Earth. The probe offers a unique opportunity to understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently, and to find the causes for the transformation of Venus -- believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth.
The VOM mission, visualized to orbit a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of the planet Venus, is an achievement of the Department of Space.
The Cabinet press statement said "ISRO will be responsible for the development of the spacecraft and its launch. 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 will also prepare India for future planetary missions with larger payloads and optimal orbit insertion approaches.
Read also| PM Modi Turns 74; President Murmu, Union Ministers, and CMs Offer Birthday Wishes
Read also| India best bet for 21st century, its solar revolution a golden chapter, says PM Modi
