Japan has lost contact with its Akatsuki probe, the only spacecraft currently in orbit around Venus. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it ...

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. "This was a mission that changed our view of our Earth-sized neighbor, and laid the path for new ...

Fifteen years after launch, Japan has announced the end of the "Planet C" mission, leaving humanity with no presence around Venus. In May 2010, Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the ...

Update: Jaxa has confirmed that the orbital maneuver worked. Akatsuki is now in a stable elliptical orbit around Venus. While the new orbit will not allow for the same mission profile as was ...

Hatsune Miku is being retired. After more than a decade in orbit, Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft has officially gone silent. The mission—designed to study Venus’s atmosphere—was declared complete by JAXA ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...