Sweden getting on board India's Venus mission

Sweden is getting on board India's Venus orbiter mission ‘Shukrayaan’ with a scientific instrument to explore the planet. Ambassador of Sweden to India, Klas Molin said Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF) is engaged in the venture, its second collaborative project with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). "IRF's satellite instrument Venusian Neutrals Analyzer (VNA) will study how the charged particles from the Sun interact with the atmosphere and exosphere of the planet", he told PTI. "The new Venus mission means that the collaboration between IRF and ISRO continues".

The VNA would be the ninth generation of IRF's series of miniatured ion and ENA (Energetic Neutral Atoms) instruments, according to Swedish officials. The first generation was named SARA (Sub-keV Atom Reflecting Analyzer) and was launched on board the Indian spacecraft Chandrayaan-1 that explored the Moon in 2008-2009. SARA consisted of two sensors. On collaboration in general with India in the field of space, Molin said Sweden has quite a lot to provide, both from its institutions and from space tech companies. He said India has a clear ambition to explore the universe, other planets and to send humans to space.