The Shukrayaan-1 mission is a planned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) mission to study the surface and atmosphere of Venus. The mission’s main goal is to conduct a thorough study of the planet Venus. 

NASA’s discovery of oxygen on Venus reshapes our understanding of the planet. The oxygen was found concentrated between two layers of the Venusian atmosphere, at an altitude about 60 miles (100 km) above the surface. The presence of oxygen might compel scientists to tailor their investigative instruments for more focused studies. 

The unofficial name of the Shukrayaan-1 mission is an amalgamation of two words – ‘Shukra’, which means Venus and ‘Yaana’, meaning craft, in Sanskrit.

No, Shukrayaan-1 is an orbiter mission.The spacecraft will orbit Venus to study the planet’s surface and atmosphere. The mission’s scientific payloads include a high resolution synthetic aperture radar and a ground penetrating radar. 

The mission was originally expected to launch in December 2024. However, it may be postponed to 2031

In November 2021, scientists detected atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Venus. The oxygen was found in a thin layer between two other layers of the atmosphere, about 60 miles up. The oxygen was detected at all 17 positions measured. 

The discovery was made using an instrument on NASA’s SOFIA, a Boeing 747SP aircraft with a 2.5-meter diameter telescope. SOFIA was a joint project between NASA and the German Aerospace Center. 

The oxygen on Venus exists as individual atomic units, not clusters of molecules like on Earth. The atomic oxygen is concentrated around 100 kilometers (62 miles) in altitude between two circulation patterns. It’s possible these currents play a role in distributing the oxygen around the planet

They found atomic oxygen in a thin layer sandwiched between other layers of Venus’s atmosphere. The surprising observation revealed that oxygen on Venus exists not as clusters of molecules, as on Earth, but as individual atomic units. The Earth’s breathable oxygen is present in molecular clusters

In 1761, Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765) was the first to observe evidence of Venus’s atmosphere. Lomonosov was observing Venus’s transit across the Sun’s disk at the St. Petersburg Observatory. He noticed the refraction of solar rays and a halo, which he attributed to an atmosphere. 

Other observers at the time also made observations that have been ascribed to the effects of Venus’s atmosphere. For example, David Rittenhouse observed the 1769 transit. Johann Schröter also took into account out-of-transit observations of the ring of light around the planet at inferior conjunction in 1796. 

However, some have challenged Lomonosov’s discovery. They argue that Lomonosov’s telescope was not capable of detecting the atmosphere

Venus’s surface has no water in any form. The planet’s atmosphere contains water vapor, but only 0.002% compared to Earth’s 0.40%.  Venus’s atmosphere is also toxic, heavy, and made up of carbon dioxide and sulfuric acid clouds. The surface pressure is over 90 times that of Earth at sea level. 

Venus’s surface is the hottest in the solar system at 477°C. The planet’s carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere, leading to a runaway greenhouse effect. This created the present conditions on Venus. 

Venus has over 200 channel systems and valles that resemble terrestrial rivers. These channels vary in length and width and are commonly found in planar regions of the planet

Venus was once similar to Earth. It may have had an atmosphere similar to Earth’s, water on its surface, and plate tectonics. Some scientists believe Venus may have even had life. 

Venus is similar in size, mass, density, and volume to Earth. It’s believed that both planets formed at the same time about 4.5 billion years ago. 

However, climate change made Venus uninhabitable. Venus’s atmosphere is now 96% carbon dioxide, which is so thick that no sunlight can reach the surface. The planet’s surface temperature is 460°C, which is hot enough to melt lead. Venus also has active volcanoes and sulfuric acid rain.

Best telescopes on heavy discount on Amazon