Venus Goes Silent: Japan’s Akatsuki Ends 15-Year Mission

According to Futurism, Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft has been officially declared dead by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) after losing contact in April 2024. The $300 million Venus Climate Orbiter launched in 2010 but suffered an engine failure during its initial approach, forcing it to drift around the Sun for five years before JAXA engineers successfully inserted it into Venus orbit in 2015. Despite this early setback, the cube-shaped probe far exceeded its planned 4.5-year lifespan, operating for 15 years total and collecting eight years of valuable data that resulted in 178 scientific papers. Akatsuki marks Japan’s first successful planetary exploration and was Earth’s only active orbiter studying Venus, following the European Space Agency’s Venus Express mission that ended in 2014. This closure leaves a significant gap in planetary science that won’t be filled until at least the next decade.

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The Little Spacecraft That Could

Akatsuki’s story represents one of space exploration’s most remarkable recovery operations. When the main engine failed during the critical orbital insertion maneuver in 2010, most missions would have been written off as complete failures. Instead, JAXA engineers spent five years developing an innovative solution using the spacecraft’s smaller attitude control thrusters for a second attempt. This required precise calculations and patience as the spacecraft continued its solar orbit, waiting for the right planetary alignment. The successful 2015 orbital insertion demonstrated extraordinary mission recovery capabilities that should inform future spacecraft design. The fact that the mission continued producing valuable science for eight years after this near-catastrophic failure speaks volumes about both the robustness of the spacecraft design and the dedication of the engineering team.

Revolutionizing Our Understanding of Venus

Despite operating with only four of its original six instruments for most of its mission, Akatsuki fundamentally changed our understanding of Venusian atmospheric dynamics. The spacecraft revealed previously unknown weather patterns, including a massive stationary gravity wave in the upper atmosphere and super-rotating clouds that move much faster than the planet’s surface rotation. These discoveries have implications beyond Venus studies, helping planetary scientists understand atmospheric physics that can be applied to exoplanet research. The mission’s longevity allowed researchers to observe seasonal changes and weather patterns over multiple Venusian years, providing the kind of longitudinal data that’s crucial for understanding climate systems. The 178 published papers represent just the beginning—Akatsuki’s data archive will continue yielding discoveries for years as researchers mine its observations.

The Coming Venus Exploration Drought

With Akatsuki’s demise, Earth enters what could be a six-year gap without any active missions at Venus—the longest such gap since the 1980s. This represents a significant strategic concern for planetary science, as NASA’s historical data shows Venus has consistently maintained some level of spacecraft presence since the 1960s. The timing is particularly unfortunate given renewed scientific interest in Venus following recent discoveries about potential phosphine gas in its atmosphere and reevaluations of its historical habitability. This data gap means we’ll miss crucial observations during the current solar cycle maximum, when solar activity can significantly affect planetary atmospheres. The absence of continuous monitoring also makes it harder to distinguish between short-term weather events and long-term climate trends when new orbiters eventually arrive.

The Next Generation of Venus Missions

Three major missions now stand to fill the void left by Akatsuki, but all face significant challenges. NASA’s DAVINCI and VERITAS missions, scheduled for 2030 and 2031 launches respectively, represent the most comprehensive Venus exploration effort in decades. However, both face budget uncertainties and technical hurdles. The European Space Agency’s EnVision mission, planned for the 2030s, continues the legacy of the highly successful Venus Express mission that preceded Akatsuki. What’s particularly notable is how these missions represent a shift toward more specialized, complementary objectives rather than general-purpose orbiters. This collaborative international approach could ultimately yield more scientific value, but depends critically on all missions proceeding as planned—a risky assumption given budget pressures and the inherent challenges of interplanetary exploration.

Japan’s Growing Planetary Science Capabilities

Akatsuki’s success solidifies Japan’s position as a major player in planetary exploration. As the country’s first successful interplanetary mission, it demonstrated capabilities that extend far beyond Japan’s renowned expertise in asteroid sample return missions. The engineering recovery alone establishes JAXA as one of the most innovative and resilient space agencies globally. This success likely paves the way for more ambitious Japanese planetary missions, potentially including future Venus landers or orbiters with more advanced instrumentation. The mission also highlights how smaller space agencies can achieve disproportionate scientific impact through careful mission selection and innovative engineering approaches. As space exploration becomes increasingly international, Japan’s proven ability to deliver complex planetary science missions positions it as an attractive partner for future collaborative efforts.

The end of Akatsuki’s mission closes a remarkable chapter in planetary exploration, but the data it collected will continue shaping our understanding of Venus for years to come while we await the next generation of missions to Earth’s mysterious twin.