. 24/7 Space News .
VENUSIAN HEAT
Japan space probe failed to enter Venus orbit: JAXA

by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 8, 2010
An interplanetary probe intended to go into orbit around Venus has failed in its mission, Japan's space agency said Wednesday, 200 days after it left Earth.

"Akatsuki", or "Dawn", was intended to be the first Japanese satellite to orbit a planet other than Earth.

Officially called the Planet-C Venus Climate Orbiter, the box-shaped golden satellite fitted with two paddle-shaped solar panels had blasted off from a space centre in southern Japan in May.

It reversed its engine to slow down and enter the planet's gravitational field Tuesday, when it temporarily lost contact with ground control, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.

On Wednesday JAXA announced that its mission had failed -- although it immediately said it was considering another attempt in seven years' time.

"We started the manoeuvre to put the Venus probe Akatsuki into orbit around Venus at 8:49 am (Tokyo time) on December 7... but have confirmed that we could not put it into the orbit," JAXA said in a statement.

JAXA said it had set up a taskforce to investigate the cause of the failure.

Japan launched a Mars probe in 1998 but JAXA gave up on its attempt to put the probe, called "Nozomi" or "Hope", into orbit in 2003 after finding it impossible to overcome technical glitches.

Venus is similar in size and age to Earth but has a far more hostile climate, with temperatures around 460 degrees Celsius (860 degrees Fahrenheit) and large amounts of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas on Earth.

Scientists believe investigating the climate of Venus would help them deepen their understanding of the formation of the Earth's environment and its future.

The Akatsuki was fitted with five cameras to peer through the planet's thick layer of sulphuric acid clouds to monitor the meteorology of Venus, search for possible lightning, and scan its crust for active volcanoes.

Akatsuki was to work closely with the European Space Agency's Venus Express.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Venus Express News and Venusian Science



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


VENUSIAN HEAT
Japan's first Venus probe struggling to enter orbit
Tokyo (AFP) Dec 7, 2010
Japan's first space probe bound for Venus was struggling on Tuesday to enter the planet's orbit, the space agency said. The Planet-C Venus Climate Orbiter, a box-shaped golden satellite fitted with two paddle-shaped solar panels, blasted off from a space centre in southern Japan in May. The probe, nicknamed "Akatsuki" or "Dawn", reversed its engine to slow down and enter the planet's gra ... read more







VENUSIAN HEAT
Robotic Excavations Could Help Get Helium 3 From Moon To Earth

Neptec Wins Canadian Space Agency Contract To Develop A New Generation Of Lunar Rovers

Mission to far side of moon proposed

Mining On The Moon Is A Not-So-Distant Possibility

VENUSIAN HEAT
Drilling For The Future Of Science

Opportunity Imaging Small Craters On Way To Endeavour

Opportunity Making Progress To Endeavour Crater

Spain Supplies Weather Station For Next Mars Rover

VENUSIAN HEAT
SwRI Researchers Continue Starfighters Suborbital Space Flight Training

X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Completes First Flight

Website Hosts Space Transcripts

Roscosmos And NASA To Seal Deal On Joint Projects

VENUSIAN HEAT
NASA postpones Discovery launch to February 3

US military space UAV back on ground after 7 month mission

Roster Of Runways Ready To Bring A Shuttle Home

Demanding Design Boosts Shuttle Engine

VENUSIAN HEAT
NASA Seeks Nonprofit To Manage ISS National Lab Research

Expedition 25 Returns Home

Crews approved for space station mission

Soyuz crew land safely on earth from ISS

VENUSIAN HEAT
ISRO Hands Two Contracts To Arianespace

US space capsule launch set for Wednesday

Kazakh Space Agency Seeks Extra Funding For New Baikonur Launch Pad

Aerojet Propulsion Raises Japan's First Quasi-Zenith Satellite MICHIBIKI

VENUSIAN HEAT
Super-Earth Has An Atmosphere, But Is It Steamy Or Gassy

First Super-Earth Atmosphere Analyzed

Super Earth Could Be Steaming Hot Or Full Of Gas

500th 'extrasolar' planet discovered

VENUSIAN HEAT
Google Chrome-powered notebooks on sale next year

Next-Gen Earth Imaging Satellite Advances To Critical Design Review Phase

Boeing Completes Intersegment Testing Of FAB-T Satellite Comms System

Video games get kids to eat more veg, fruit: study


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement