Centre Approves India's Own Space Station, Venus Orbiting Mission: ISRO

The Union government has given the green light to Shukrayaan-1 -- part of India's Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) --, and setting up Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) -- India's own space station, Nilesh M Desai from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has said.

"The Indian government has recently given a nod to our Venus Orbiting Satellite -- Shukrayaan. It will be launched in 2028," said Mr Desai, Director, Space Applications Centre, ISRO Ahmedabad, while speaking to the media.

Venus, often called Earth's twin, is the closest planet to our planet and is believed to have formed in conditions similar to Earth.

The VOM probe will help scientists understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently. It will also help search how Venus -- believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth -- transformed.

The mission would also enable India for future planetary missions with larger payloads, and optimal orbit insertion approaches.

Further, Mr Desai noted that "the government has also approved to construct India's own space station".

While the International Space Station has 16 pressurised modules, "BAS will have five", he said, adding that the first module will be launched in 2028.

"India's space station will be ready by 2035. As a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to land on the Moon by 2040, our space station will function as a transit facility en route," Mr Desai said.

Mr Desai also informed that the government has "proposed the idea of Chandrayaan 4 as a follow up of Chandrayaan 3". He noted that with Chandrayaan 4, India "will not only land on the Moon but also bring back soil and rock samples".

He further noted that India plans to collaborate with Japan for the Chandrayaan 4 mission, which "will go to the tip of the Moon's south pole at 90 degrees south". Chandrayaan 3 reached 69.3 degrees south on the lunar surface.

"Chandrayaan 4 will be a precise landing. The rover as a part of the mission will weigh 350 kg, which is 12 times heavier than the previous rover," Mr Desai said.

Although "ISRO is yet to get the government's nod for this mission, Mr Desai said, the space agency aims to "execute the mission by 2030".

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