Japan Probe Arrives at Venus, But Orbit Is Unclear
Designed to study weather on Venus, the Akatsuki probe arrived at the planet today, but it's uncertain whether the craft made it into orbit.
The U.S. $300-million Akatsuki spacecraft, whose name means "dawn" in Japanese, arrived at Venus at 6:49 p.m. ET Monday. The probe then fired its main thrusters so that Venus's gravity would capture the craft in an elliptical orbit.
(Related: "Early Venus Had Oceans, May Have Been Habitable.")
During this maneuver, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) expected to lose contact with Akatsuki for 22 minutes, as the probe moved behind the planet. Instead, the blackout lasted for an hour and a half.
Communications with the probe were eventually resumed, but it's currently unclear whether Akatsuki successfully entered orbit around Venus.
"It is not known which path the probe is following
