Mission

Venus Orbiter Mission

India's first mission to Venus, planned for launch in March 2028, to study the planet's atmosphere, surface and interaction with the Sun.

The Venus Orbiter Mission is India's first mission to Venus, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).[1] The Union Cabinet of the Government of India approved it on 18 September 2024.[2]

The mission

The mission is planned to launch in March 2028.[2] After its cruise, the spacecraft is to be inserted into an orbit around Venus of 500 km by 60,000 km.[2] It is also to serve as a technology demonstration for ISRO, testing aerobraking and thermal management in Venus' harsh environment.[2]

Science

The orbiter is to study the planet's atmosphere, surface and its interaction with the Sun: dust in the atmosphere, high-resolution maps of surface topography, and the solar wind near Venus.[2] Sixteen Indian instruments, two collaborative Indian and international instruments and one international instrument have been recommended for it, grouped into four themes: surface and subsurface, atmosphere, ionosphere, and solar wind interaction.[2]

They include a synthetic aperture radar to image the surface through the clouds, a thermal camera to map the cloud tops, and a radar sounder to probe the ionosphere and beneath the surface.[2] Venus' thick carbon dioxide atmosphere presses down with about 92 times the air pressure at Earth's surface.[2]

Other planned Venus missions include ESA's EnVision and NASA's VERITAS.

Milestones

  1. In 2028 expected
    Launch

Dates marked expected are agency estimates.

All missions and what each does next

Sources

  1. [1]Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO Organised National Science Meet on Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) — isro.gov.in, retrieved October 26, 2026
  2. [2]Indian Space Research Organisation, Mission to the Venus, and to the Moon: Configuration and Scientific Objectives — isro.gov.in, retrieved October 26, 2026

Related