Japan Announces Losing Contact With Akatsuki, The Only Active Orbiter Around Venus

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Japan's Venus spacecraft, Akatsuki, seems to be in trouble. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced that it has lost contact with the orbiter, which has been orbiting Venus and studying its climate since 2015.

Akatsuki, meaning 'dawn' in Japanese, launched in 2010 with the primary goal of investigating Venus's weather and atmospheric conditions. Despite an initial setback when the spacecraft failed to enter Venus's orbit due to a main engine failure, the team successfully maneuvered it into orbit five years later.

Venus photographed by Akatsuki. Image: JAXA

Since 2015, Akatsuki has been delivering valuable scientific data and making observations about Venus. On May 29, JAXA’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) announced the troubling development on X that contact with Akatsuki was lost in late April.

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"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," it said.

[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

The team expressed their gratitude for public support and indicated that future plans would be communicated once determined.

Akatsuki has surpassed its primary mission timeline, having entered an extended phase of operations in 2018.

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(Image: JAXA/ISAS)