Chandrayaan 2 was a phenomenal success, despite its sad ending. And after Chandrayaan 2, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)?is eyeing Venus for its next project.
ISRO/NASA
This was revealed by ISRO scientists (first reported by Space.com) in a meeting that was conducted this week in Colorado USA. They have set plans to orbit Venus and have pitched for attaining approvals for the mission.?
They expect the spacecraft to be manufactured and launched in a few years time. But the challenge is not just to get to Venus, but what lies on it
According to Nigar Shaji, one of the ISRO scientist working to bring this project to fruition, "The major objective is to map the Venusian surface and subsurface." he further stated that the orbiter that will be made by ISRO will be able to create a dataset for Venus in a year's time. Moreover, it will also map the surface and decipher the mysteries of the volcanic hotspots that are found across the planet.?
The orbiter will be carrying around 16 instruments which will also study the planet's atmosphere as well as the ionosphere. These will include systems that will constantly monitor the clouds, recognising lightning strikes.?
ISRO
They also want to see how Venus interacts with the neighbouring environment. Moreover, this research is also expected to find the mystery behind the glowing of the planet along with the measurement of the highly charged plasma particles.
If all the approvals go according to the plan, ISRO expects a June 2023 launch with its successful homegrown Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles -- the same that was used to launch Chandrayaan-2 this year. ISRO has also been working on another trip to Mars, however, it will only happen after the completion of the Venus mission.?