Venus mission aims to have unique outcome: Isro chief Somanath

ISRO chairman S Somanath

 BENGALURU: ISRO, which has on its drawing board an orbiter mission to Venus, is working on achieving a unique outcome so as to justify it to the nation, chairman S Somanath said on Wednesday.

At the inaugural of the National Meet on Venus Science, Somanath said that while the mission to study the planet, largely mysterious despite several science missions by space-faring nations, was justifiable to the fraternity, the aim is to have a unique outcome.

Isro and a host of academic institutions on Wednesday discussed various science questions revolving around Venus and the space agency is expected to further continue dialogues before firming up the mission plan. Given the budgetary and resources constraint, Somanath said it was essential to convince decision-makers the use space science missions have for the nation.

“The mission can be done very quickly, there is capability for that. But today, we are looking at what contributions the mission makes. We’ll review what we've done and what can be added, look at whether we are simply repeating what's already been done just to validate that even we can do it or whether it can achieve something unique. Unique outcomes like Chandrayaan, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and Astrosat are needed for science missions,” Somanath said.

He pointed out that given the budgetary and resources constraint give rise to conflicting requirements for planning. “A mission like this is expensive. We need to dedicate a launch vehicle, build a spacecraft and engage a lot of human resources. There’s huge investment and it is, therefore, important to prove to decision makers why the mission is important,” Somanath said.

Reiterating that while even just doing the science part of the mission “is progress”, he said unique outcomes would make the mission more convincing. “It is important that we not only cater to the scientists’ inner desire to learn, but it must also prove useful for the country. So the benefits of learning about Venus must be made known to the country, we need to help create new talent pool and sustain them,” he added.