Why in news?  ISRO likely to push Venus mission ‘Shukrayaan I’ to 2031 as organisation was yet to receive approval from the Union government

Highlights

• ISRO’s Venus mission, Shukrayaan I, was expected to be launched in December 2024
• ISRO commenced preliminary studies after the Department of Space received a 23% increase in the 2017-18 Budget after 5 years of review
• Optimal launch windows from earth to Venus occur once around every 19 months and ISRO has “back-up” launch dates in 2026 and 2028, if it missess the 2024 opportunity.
• Meanwhile, U.S. and the European space agencies had Venus missions planned for 2031 referring to VERITAS and EnVision, respectively

About Shukrayaan-1

• It is a planned orbiter to Venus by the Indian Space Research Organisation
• Mission duration Planned : 4 years
• Rocket: GSLV Mark II
• Launch site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre
• payload mass : 100 kg
• Spacecraft component: Aerobot balloon
• Scientific payloads currently include a high-resolution synthetic aperture radar and a ground-penetrating radar.
• Mission is expected to study Venus’s geological and volcanic activity, emissions on the ground, wind speed, cloud cover, and other planetary characteristics from an elliptical orbit.