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Mahesh

06/05/22 07:55 AM IST

ISRO Plans Mission to Venus

In News 
  • After sending missions to the Moon and Mars, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is now readying a spacecraft to orbit Venus.
  • To  study what lies below the surface of the solar system’s hottest planet, and also unravel the mysteries under the Sulfuric Acid clouds enveloping it.
About Mission
  • The space agency is eyeing the December 2024 window for launch with orbital maneuvers planned for the following year when earth and Venus would be so aligned that the spacecraft could be put in the neighbouring planet’s orbit using a minimum amount of propellant.
  • The next similar window would be available in 2031.
  • The mission will bring an instrument to Venus to examine the planet’s atmosphere in infrared, ultraviolet and submillimeter wavelengths.
About Venus 
  • Venus is the second planet from the sun and the hottest planet in the solar system with a surface temperature of 500C – high enough to melt lead.
  • The planet’s thick atmosphere has cranked the surface pressure up to 90 bars.
  • A single Venusian rotation takes 243.0226 Earth days. That means a day lasts longer than a year on Venus, which makes a complete orbit around the sun in 225 Earth days.
  • The Venusian planetary core has a diameter of about 4,360 miles (7,000 km), comparable to Earth’s core.
  • Venus is one of just two planets that rotate from east to west. Only Venus and Uranus have this “backwards” rotation.
Historic missions to Venus:
  • Magellan – a Nasa mission that ended in 1994.
  • Venus Express– A European mission- focused on atmospheric science.
  • Akatsuki– Japanese spacecraft- focused on atmospheric science.
Source- Indian Express 

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