Shukrayaan-1: Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM)

 India's planned mission to Venus is the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), widely referred to by its unofficial name, Shukrayaan-1. It is India's second interplanetary mission (following the Mars Orbiter Mission) and was formally approved by the Union Cabinet on September 18, 2024.



  • Launch Timeline: The mission is scheduled to launch on March 29, 2028, utilizing the heavy-lift LVM-3 rocket.

  • Transit: The spacecraft will undertake a 112-day journey, with orbital insertion at Venus planned for July 19, 2028.

  • Mission Type: It is strictly an orbiter mission and will not carry a surface lander due to the extreme heat and pressure of the Venusian surface.

Scientific Objectives

The mission is designed to conduct comprehensive studies of the planet from orbit, with primary goals including:

  • Sub-Surface Exploration: Investigating the surface processes and shallow sub-surface stratigraphy, which will mark the first sub-surface study of Venus conducted by any spacecraft.

  • Volcanic Activity: Searching for recent or active volcanism, volcanic hotspots, and lava flows.

  • Atmospheric Studies: Analyzing the structure, composition, dynamics, and thermal characteristics of the thick Venusian atmosphere and cloud cover.

  • Solar Interaction: Investigating how the solar wind interacts with the Venusian ionosphere.

Key Payload and Instruments

The ~2,500 kg spacecraft will carry a science payload of approximately 100 kg, comprising 19 planned instruments (16 Indian, 2 collaborative, and 1 international). Some of the major instruments include:

  • Venus Synthetic Aperture Radar (VSAR): An S-Band radar (2.5 GHz) that can penetrate the dense Venusian clouds to map the surface at a high spatial resolution of 20-30 meters and search for impact craters and volcanic hotspots.

  • Ground-Penetrating Radar: Designed specifically to study the planet's sub-surface.

  • Venus Surface Emissivity and Atmospheric Mapper (VSEAM): A hyper-spectral imaging spectrometer operating in the near-infrared to short-wave infrared range to identify thermal anomalies and map aerosols.

  • Venus Thermal Camera (VTC): Will map thermal emissions from the cloud tops to study atmospheric dynamics and planetary-scale features.

  • Lightning Instrument for VEnus (LIVE): A low-frequency electric field analyzer designed to detect lightning and understand the electrostatic model of Venusian clouds.

  • Venus Orbit Dust Experiment (VODEX): An impact ionization dust detector to study interplanetary dust particles at Venus.

The mission design may also incorporate an aerobot balloon to act as an atmospheric probe.

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