Japan’s Akatsuki probe ramps up for observations above Venus

After taking the scenic route to its destination, the Japanese Space Agency’s (JAXA) Akatsuki probe is about to finally start making observations of Venus’ atmosphere.

Akatsuki was supposed to arrive at Venus in 2010, but an engine problem caused the probe to slip into an orbit around the Sun. JAXA regained control of its wandering probe in December and directed it back to Venus.

On Friday, JAXA announced that its probe is poised to finally begin the scientific part of its mission.

“AKATSUKI has been performing test observations by turning on its onboard observation instruments one by one,” the space agency said in a blog post. “The instruments are starting up normally, and we have already conducted successful observations that are equivalent to a ‘minimum success’, thus we will move to regular operations in mid April.”

What can Akatsuki learn about Venus?

Translating to “Dawn” in English, Akatsuki is a $300 million craft intended to study Venus’ clouds, climate, and atmosphere in close proximity using six on-board instruments. The probe’s observations will help scientists understand how Venus became very hot and apparently inhospitable to life. The planet is thought to have resembled Earth once upon a time.

The original plan had Akatsuki orbiting Venus once every 30 hours, at a maximum distance of approximately 50,000 miles. However, the reconfigured mission puts the probe in a 13-day orbit that takes the Japanese probe as far as 273,000 miles from the planet’s exterior, according to JAXA officials.

In the last few months, Akatsuki has worked to reach a less elliptical orbit; JAXA has said it wants the spacecraft to be in a 9-day orbit with a maximum distance of approximately 193,000 miles when regular operations commence.

Akatsuki should still be in a position to carry out most of its initial science goals from this kind of orbit, JAXA officials have said. The craft launched in May 2010 together with JAXA’s Ikaros probe, which became the first spacecraft to ever set up and use a solar sail in interplanetary space.

The probe’s first pass at Venus failed when thermal issues caused the orbiter to enter safe mode and JAXA scientists were unable to restore it to its full operational status in time to complete the necessary maneuvers. High-precision thruster firings allowed the craft to turn back to Venus.

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Image credit: JAXA

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