Japan is initiating a hoped for start of a new era in Venusian exploration with the orbit insertion around the veiled planet on December 7 of its AKATSUKI spacecraft.
However, the exact whereabouts of the orbiter is not known due to loss of contact with the craft by controllers on Earth.
Engineers at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) believe the spacecraft has placed itself into a safe hold mode in its execution of braking into Venus orbit.
Attempts to regain contact with AKATSUKI are underway.
The spacecraft was launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) on May 21, 2010 atop that country’s H-IIA booster from the Tanegashima Space Center.
Once safely in orbit, AKATSUKI will make observations of the planet’s meteorological phenomena and of its surface, as well as monitor atmospheric particles escaping from Venus into space.
The orbiter is also slated to take close-up photos of Venus, as well as observe the storm winds that blow across the Venusian surface, at speeds that reach 60 times the speed at which Venus rotates. This phenomenon remains the biggest mystery of Venus, as it cannot be explained meteorologically.
While Venus is often referred to as Earth’s “sister planet” in terms of size and mass, Venus is actually very different.
Venus is veiled in carbon dioxide, with a high temperature and thick sulfuric-acid clouds. Clarification of the causes for this environment will provide clues as to the understanding of the birth of Earth and of its climate changes. Therefore, Venus is a very important subject for exploration.
In reaching orbit around Venus, AKATSUKI would join the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Venus Express mission which is already circling that planet. It was launched back in November 2005. The ESA spacecraft is on an extended mission to the end of 2014, subject to a mid-term review in 2012.
By Leonard David