NASA/JPL-Caltech

Together towards Venus: IRF part of strengthened Sweden–India space collaboration

A Swedish scientific instrument will explore Venus. The Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) are deepening their collaboration through India’s upcoming mission to Venus – an effort highlighted as part of the new strategic partnership between Sweden and India.

During the Sweden–India Summit in Gothenburg on 17 May, the two Prime Ministers specifi-cally highlighted the cooperation surrounding India’s upcoming Venus Orbiter Mission, for which IRF is developing a scientific instrument. The collaboration marks an important step in the growing space partnership between Sweden and India and underscores Sweden’s role in in-ternational space research.

For the mission, IRF is developing the Venusian Neutrals Analyzer (VNA) as part of the joint India–Sweden payload package, VISWAS. The instrument will measure neutral particles in the Venusian environment.

VNA will provide new insights into how Venus’ atmosphere interacts with the surrounding space environment and help us understand why the planet developed so differently from Earth, says Yoshifumi Futaana, IRF professor and Principal Investigator of VNA.

The mission marks IRF’s second exploration of Venus. Between 2006 and 2014, IRF’s instru-ment ASPERA-4 onboard the European spacecraft Venus Express helped reveal how solar wind interacts with Venus’ atmosphere and deepened our knowledge about atmospheric escape processes.

IRF is much pleased to share its experience in Venus science with Indian colleagues, further strengthening the fruitful collaboration between Sweden and India. Joint exploration of Venus continues the successful Chandrayaan-1 lunar mission that achieved a major scientific success, and I am confident that the Venus mission will be as well, says Stas Barabash, Professor and Head of IRF research programme Solar system physics and space technology.

Read the Joint statement on the India-Sweden Summit