The only mission that humanity has ever undertaken to Venus, the spacecraft Akatsuki, has lost contact with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The declaration was released on X, the former Twitter.
According to the space agency, contact between Akatsuki and the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) was lost in late April.
The JAXA wrote, “[From the Akatsuki team] ISAS has lost contact with Akatsuki after an operation in late April due to an extended period of low attitude stability control mode, and is currently making efforts to reestablish communication with the spacecraft.”
[From the Akatsuki team](1/2)
ISAS has lost contact with Akatsuki after an operation in late April due to an extended period of low attitude stability control mode, and is currently making efforts to reestablish communication with the spacecraft.— 「あかつき」チーム (@Akatsuki_JAXA) May 29, 2024
Japan’s first successful mission to explore another planet, Akatsuki was launched on May 21, 2010.
As per the official page of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Akatsuki is the Venus Climate Orbiter mission (PLANET-C). The aim — “to observe the toxic atmosphere and super-hot volcanic surface of Venus.”
The US-based Space agency added, “Study weather patterns on Venus, confirm lightning in thick clouds, and search for signs of active volcanism.”
In 2015, the spacecraft Akatsuki entered the planet’s orbit while carrying six different types of observation equipment. Launched from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. According to AFP, the launch budget was JPY 25.2 billion ($205 million).
The mission of the spacecraft is to conduct three-dimensional studies of Venus’s dense clouds.
Its purpose is also to study the planet’s powerful winds. The winds—which are thought to be faster than 360 kph—cause super-rotation, an atmospheric phenomenon.