Chandrayaan-4, Venus Mission cleared by Cabinet

The Cabinet on Wednesday gave a green signal for the Chandrayaan-4, a lunar exploration mission aimed at demonstrating technologies for landing on the Moon, collecting samples and returning to Earth with the samples.

The Cabinet also approved the Venus Orbiter Mission and the establishment of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS). The latter is modelled on the International Space Station maintained on low earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies.

“Great news for the space sector! The Union Cabinet has approved the first step towards the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS), expanding the Gaganyaan programme! The landmark decision brings us closer to a self-sustained space station by 2035 and a crewed lunar mission by 2040!”, the Prime Minister posted on X. The lunar mission, with a budget of Rs 2,104.06 crore, is set to be a stepping stone for India’s long-term space faring goals.

Besides the ambitious target of establishing an Indian space station by 2035, the mission also aligns with the plan of achieving a crewed lunar mission by 2040. The Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) has been allocated a budget of Rs 1,236 crore. It is scheduled for launch in March 2028.

The primary objective is to enhance the understanding of the surface, subsurface and atmospheric processes of Venus as well as the Sun’s influence on former’s atmosphere. Biman Nath, Professor of Astrophysics, Ramnan Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, said Venus which was once potentially habitable and similar to Earth has underwent dramatic changes due to greenhouse effect. “Studying Venus is important so that precautions could be taken to prevent earth from suffering a similar fate,” Nath said.

The Cabinet has also approved the development of the first module of the Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS-1) by expanding the scope of “Gaganyaan” – the human space flight programme of the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The revised Gaganyaan programme now consists of eight missions to be completed by December 2028, including the launch of the BAS-1 unit. The total funding for the Gaganyaan programme has been increased to Rs 20,193 crore, with an additional allocation of Rs 11,170 crore to accommodate its expanded scope.