ISRO strengthened its European partnerships as Sweden joined India’s Venus mission and Norway signed a new space cooperation agreement with India.

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• Sweden officially joined India’s Venus mission, also known as Shukrayaan.
• Sweden’s Institute of Space Physics will develop the Venusian Neutrals Analyser (VNA) instrument.
• VNA will study interaction between solar particles and Venus’ atmosphere and exosphere.
• India’s Venus spacecraft is expected to reach Venus by July 2028 after a 112-day journey.
• Mission was approved by Modi government in 2024 with an outlay of ₹1,236 crore.
• ISRO plans to launch the spacecraft using the LVM-3 rocket.
• Mission aims to study Venus’ dense atmosphere, volcanic surface and super-rotating clouds.
• Scientists also hope to examine whether Venus once had conditions suitable for liquid water.
• Mission will carry 19 scientific payloads including Indian and international instruments.
• Preliminary Design Review of the mission was completed in April 2026.
• Norwegian Space Agency signed an MoU with ISRO for deeper space cooperation.
• India and Norway will cooperate in climate studies, Arctic research and space science.
• PM Narendra Modi said cooperation will strengthen scientific and environmental research efforts.
• Partnership reflects India’s growing role in international space collaboration and planetary exploration.