New Delhi. Sweden has officially joined ISRO’s Venus Orbiter Mission (BOM). Last week the Union Cabinet had approved this mission. The Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) will reportedly provide the Venusian Neutrals Analyzer instrument (BNA) to ISRO.
It is a lightweight, low-power but highly capable Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) analyzer. VNA will study the interaction between charged particles coming from the atmosphere and exosphere of the Sun and Venus. According to the Cabinet release, the VoM mission is expected to be launched in March 2028.
This mission will help in understanding the atmosphere and geology of Venus and will collect a large amount of scientific data by investigating its dense atmosphere. The Cabinet also approved a fund of Rs 1,236 crore for ‘VOM, of which Rs 824 crore will be spent on the spacecraft. IRF was the Principal Investigator of the plasma package on the European Space Agency’s Venus Express mission from 2004–2014.
The VOM mission will be Sweden’s second Venus exploration. Sweden has been India’s space partner since 1986. It also partnered with ISRO in Chandrayaan Mission 1, 2 and 3. It also aims to partner with Chandrayaan-4 and India’s human spaceflight mission Gangayan. Venus is the closest planet to Earth and is believed to have formed under similar conditions to Earth.