The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lost contact with Akatsuki, humanity's only active mission observing Venus, the agency said in a Tweet. Communication with Asaktsuki was lost in April, due to issues maintaining a stable attitude control mode required for Earth communication.
Launched in 2010, Akatsuki successfully entered Venus orbit in 2015 after overcoming initial difficulties and has delivered valuable atmospheric data over the past 9 years as the sole active Venus mission, despite a main engine failure preventing its originally planned orbit insertion.
It requires a stable orientation to point its antenna toward Earth for communication. JAXA is working to restore communication, but it is uncertain if the mission can be salvaged.
Venus is gaining attention due to potential biomarkers in its atmosphere and questions about its greenhouse effect, with future missions planned by NASA, ESA, India, and private enterprises to explore the planet.
The Planet is a vital subject for further research due to its unique atmosphere, climate, and potential insights into Earth's history and evolution. Recent studies suggest Venus's water may have vaporized due to HCO+ dissociative recombination, which could explain discrepancies in previous data and the rapid water loss on Venus.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq
Sources: Futurism, Gizmodo, Mashable, Ars Technica, Science Times, space.com, NDTV