Japan Probe Missed Venus—Will Try Again in Six Years
Ker Than
for National Geographic News
Published December 8, 2010
The Japanese spacecraft Akatsuki overshot Venus yesterday and failed to settle into an observing orbit around the cloudy planet, mission officials said today.
"We have found that the orbiter was not injected into the planned orbit as a result of orbit estimation," Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) officials said in a statement released Wednesday.
But the craft is still in working order, and JAXA officials stress that they are in contact with the probe.
Although Akatsuki does not have enough fuel left to turn around, it has settled into orbit around the sun. That means JAXA can try again for orbital insertion around Venus when Akatsuki returns to the planet in six years.
JAXA officials said in a press conference today that the likelihood of a successful insertion then is "high."
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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/12/101208-japan-venus-spacecraft-akatsuki-missed-orbit-science-space/
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