It’s been six months since the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Akatsuki probe the Tanegashima spaceport in Kagoshima Prefecture. The spacecraft which is roughly the size of a fridge has reached its destination and after solving a slight tragetory problem has successfully entered orbit around Venus the second planet from the Sun and the sixth largest overall.
The sophisticated probe will now begin it’s mission of using it’s five cameras to build 3-D images and maps of Venus’ atmosphere, as well as study the surface composition of the murky planet which is covered with an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light.
Japanese Astronaut joins Twitter
In other interesting news Japanese astronaut Astronaut Satoshi Furukawa who is slated to live in the International Space Station (ISS) for six months from around the end of May 2011 has joined twitter recently and will tweet about his training on the ground, then, during his expedition at the ISS, he will report on his daily scientific experiments from a scientist’s point of view as well as daily life and changes in his body in space based on his experiences as a medical doctor. Follow him at http://twitter.com/Astro_Satoshi
More Info about Akatsuki probe
Akatsuki/Planet-C Official Website
[japan]
I’m sure you know it reached Venus but didn’t make orbit as planned. Due to fuel limits they will have to wait 6 years to try again.
I hear it has been captured by the Deceptacons -_-