14 DAY TRIAL // On May 21, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully launched its Akatsuki space probe, which is to become the first ever weather satellite around another planet. The spacecraft arrived at Venus, its primary target, on Monday, December 6.
According to mission controllers, the event took place at around 6:50 pm EST (2350 GMT), and marked a very important achievement for JAXA. Its satellite is bound to further our knowledge of Venus extensively.
Mission data show that the orbiter achieved orbital insertion on a path that will take it between 300 and 80,000 kilometers away from the surface of the planet. This highly-elliptical orbit will allow it to conduct very detailed observations of its target.
Among its primary objectives, scientists mention the discovery and analysis of lightnings and active volcanoes, as well as studies of the planet's clouds. Recently, it was determined that the Venusian sulfur cycle is not as well understood as experts liked to think.
At this point, Akatsuki (which means “dawn” in Japanese) is scheduled to remain in the planet's orbit for about two years. But the mission can be extended if the hardware itself can withstand the harsh conditions of the flight, Space reports.
“Once we can explain the structure of Venus, we will be able to better understand Earth. For example, we may discover the reasons that only Earth has been able to sustain oceans, and why only Earth is abundant in life,” said Takeshi Imamura.
Akatsuki is “the world's first interplanetary probe that deserves to be called a meteorological satellite,” he added in a pre-launch statement. Imamura is a JAXA Akatsuki project scientist.
One of the greatest mysteries related to the Venusian atmosphere is the presence of lightning in its clouds, given that most of the “air” there is made up of sulfuric acid and other similar compounds.
“What creates lightning on Earth is water droplets and ice crystals in clouds, which leads to the separation of electric charges that lightning needs, and you don't have that kind of weather on Venus,” the expert argued.
“Maybe there's a kind of weather we haven't seen yet on Venus that causes this lightning, or maybe how we're wrong about the kinds of conditions needed to make lightning,” he went on to say.
“Venus Express and Akatsuki are like sister satellites, and a very good cooperative relationship has been built as we have progressed in our missions,” Imamumra said, referring to the spacecraft the European Space Agency (ESA) is operating around Venus.
Another of the spacecraft's primary objectives is to gain more data and provide scientists with a better understanding of the planet's “super-rotation.”
This phenomenon causes the formation of powerful winds in the atmosphere, that drive around clouds at speeds of over 360 kilometers per hour, or 220 miles per hour. This means that the atmosphere spins about 60 times faster than Venus itself does.