Sweden Joins India’s Venus Orbiter Mission – Shukrayaan

India’s Venus orbiter mission, also called Shukrayaan, is a planned interplanetary mission to Venus with international collaboration from Sweden. The mission will carry 19 payloads and will study Venus’s atmosphere, exosphere, surface, weather systems and super-rotating clouds.

India-Sweden Space Cooperation

Sweden has joined the Venus orbiter mission through an agreement for scientific collaboration. The Swedish Institute of Space Physics will develop the Venusian Neutrals Analyser, or VNA, for the spacecraft. The instrument will study the interaction between charged particles from the Sun and the atmosphere and exosphere of Venus.

Mission Profile and Orbit

The Venus orbiter mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2024 with an outlay of Rs 1,236 crore. The spacecraft will be launched on an LVM-3 rocket and will first enter an elliptical orbit before moving into a Venusian orbit. The planned orbit has a periapsis of 500 km and an apoapsis of 60,000 km.

Scientific Objectives

ISRO plans to study the dense atmosphere of Venus, its volcanic surface, and its cloud dynamics. Scientists also plan to examine whether Venus once had conditions suitable for liquid water before it became a greenhouse planet.

Important Facts for Exams

• Venus is the second planet from the Sun and is often called Earth’s twin because of its similar size and mass.
• Venus has a dense carbon dioxide atmosphere and surface temperatures above 460°C.
• ISRO is the Indian space agency under the Department of Space, Government of India.
• LVM-3 is India’s heavy-lift launch vehicle used for major space missions.

Mission Timeline

The spacecraft is expected to reach Venus by July 2028 after a 112-day journey. The mission’s Preliminary Design Review was completed in April 2026.