ISRO hosted a national science meet in Bengaluru on 29–30 October 2025 to advance India’s 2028 Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM), bringing together about 150 experts from ISRO, national institutes and universities to deepen scientific collaboration. With over 70 external participants from 40 institutions, the discussions focused on mission instruments, modelling and data-analysis readiness for studying Venus’s atmosphere, clouds, aerosols, ionosphere, solar-wind interactions and surface features. ISRO leadership stressed that VOM is a strategic next step after India’s Moon and Mars missions, reinforcing the country’s credentials in deep-space exploration and its long-term technological autonomy. Speakers highlighted the need to engage wider scientific talent and communicate India’s space achievements to citizens, ensuring national ownership of high-value missions. The meet aimed to strengthen India’s capacity to extract maximum scientific and strategic returns from VOM, positioning the mission as an important milestone in India’s planetary-science ambitions.