❖ The Union Cabinet recently approved India’s first mission to Venus that ISRO aims to launch in March 2028.

❖ This will be the country’s second interplanetary mission after the Mars Orbiter Mission launched in 2013.

❖ It aims to examine the surface and sub-surface of Venus, its atmosphere, its ionosphere, and its interaction with the Sun.

❖ Venus is often called Earth’s twin because it is similar in mass, density, and size.

❖ Therefore, studying Venus may offer scientists clues about the evolution of Earth.

❖ Notably, Venus is thought to have had water at some point in its history but has now become a dry and dusty planet.

❖ It has an extremely high surface temperature of around 462 degrees Celsius, even hotter than Mercury.

❖ The atmospheric pressure on Venus is much higher than on Earth.

❖ 96.5% of the atmosphere of Venus is made up of carbon dioxide and there are sulphuric acid clouds on the planet.

❖ Venus rotates very slowly on its axis as compared to Earth and one rotation of Venus lasts around 243 Earth days.