New Delhi, Sep 18 (IANS): After successful missions to the Moon and Mars, India is now set to explore Venus, with the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approving the development of the Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM).

The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the mission to Venus for scientific exploration.

The mission, expected to launch in March 2028, will help unravel the "Venusian atmosphere, geology and generate large amounts of science data probing into its thick atmosphere", according to a Cabinet communique.

The Cabinet has also "approved a fund of Rs 1,236 crore for the VOM, of which Rs 824 crore will be spent on the spacecraft".

"The cost includes development and realisation of the spacecraft including its specific payloads and technology elements, global ground station support cost for navigation and network as well as the cost of the launch vehicle,” the Cabinet said.

Venus is the closest planet to Earth and is believed to have formed in conditions similar to Earth. The probe offers a unique opportunity to understand how planetary environments can evolve very differently, and to find the causes for the transformation of Venus -- believed to be once habitable and quite similar to Earth.

The VOM mission will be accomplished by the Department of Space and is envisaged to orbit a scientific spacecraft in the orbit of planet Venus.

"ISRO will be responsible for the development of the spacecraft and its launch. The project will be effectively managed and monitored through the established practices prevailing at ISRO. The data generated from the mission would be disseminated to the scientific community through existing mechanisms," the Cabinet communique said.

The mission would also enable India for future planetary missions with larger payloads, and optimal orbit insertion approaches.