Japanese probe to Venus returns first data
APR 13, 2016
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029735
Nature : The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched Akatsuki (“Dawn”) in 2010 on a mission to Venus to study the planet’s atmosphere and to look for signs of active geological processes. But a faulty engine valve caused the craft to sail by Venus and orbit the Sun. In December JAXA saved the mission by using the probe’s secondary thrusters to finally achieve a Venus orbit. Now the team managing the spacecraft has presented the first images collected by Akatsuki‘s cameras. Taken 100 000 km from the planet, the images show details of the clouds in Venus’s sulfurous atmosphere.
© 2016 American Institute of Physics
