Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft fails to enter orbit around Venus
DEC 08, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024886
Physics Today : Japan’s space agency JAXA announced this morning that its Akatsuki spacecraft did not enter a stable orbit around Venus. Launched on 21 May 2010, the 480-kg Akatsuki was equipped with a suite of imaging and spectral instruments, whose main goal was to study the Venusian atmosphere. In particular, the Akatsuki team hoped to determine whether Venus is volcanically active and whether its clouds produce lightning. JAXA has set up a panel to investigate the cause of the failure.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
