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New Delhi: At the European Round Table for Industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson, and President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen held a joint presser to discuss the bolstering of strategic partnerships between India, Sweden and the European Union. Kristersson noted, “Our bilateral space cooperation has been ongoing for a long time. India’s Space Research Organisation and Sweden’s National Space Agency have joined forces since the 1980s.” In 1986, ISRO signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the then Swedish Board for Space Activities (SBSA), now the Swedish National Space Board (SNSB) to provide a framework for collaborative activities in space.

Kristersson added, “Now, I see great scope for India and Sweden to pursue enhanced cooperation in this area, and I am very pleased that our two space organisations have signed an MoU to collaborate on an instrument that will be part of the Venus Orbiter Mission. So Sweden is proud to be on our way to Venus together with India.” This MoU is towards development of the Venus Ionospheric and Solar Wind particle AnalySer (VISWAS) instrument on board the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), made up of a Plasma Analyser developed by India and a Neutrals Analyser developed by Sweden.

The Venus Orbiter Mission

The VISWAS instrument is one of 19 payloads on board the Venus Orbiter Mission. Shortly after the mission was formally approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2024, ISRO revealed the 19 payloads on the spacecraft, three of which were realised through international collaborations with Sweden, Germany and Russia. Since then, newer renders are among the many hints towards the inclusion of an atmospheric probe on the mission, that will attempt to relay data for as long as possible while descending through the toxic Venusian atmosphere. ISRO plans to launch the Venus Orbiter Mission or the Shukrayaan mission no sooner than March 2028.