Akatsuki Venus Climate Orbiter |
Akatsuki Venus Climate Orbiter |
Mar 13 2010, 11:29 AM
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#501
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
I thought it was time to start a separate thread on this mission, launching soon
some good medium-resolution images of the spacecraft are available on JAXA digital archives http://jda.jaxa.jp/jda/p3_e.php?time=N&...mp;mission=4066 |
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Nov 10 2011, 02:44 PM
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#502
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
They were all significantly more powerful than a usual RCS thruster. They were, infact, the descent engines for the 2001 lander.
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Jan 31 2012, 12:36 PM
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#503
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Member Group: Members Posts: 817 Joined: 17-April 10 From: Kamakura, Japan Member No.: 5323 |
This news just in. (21:09 31 January 2012, The Yomiuri newspaper)
JAXA announced that they will try and re-insesrt Akatsuki into Venus orbit in December 2016, if the prove conditions remain good. In this case, Akatsuki's orbit will be oval in shape and it will have to observe Venus from a distance. However, according to JAXA there will not be much of a problem in observing clouds and atmosphere of Venus. Akatsuki used its smaller engines in November last year to correct its course and is programmed to have its closest encounter in November 2015. However, forcing Akatsuki into a circular orbit at this time will mean an orbit which is not really ideal for atmospheric observation. It is for this reason that they want to opt for June 2016, which is the next closest encounter. However, missing the earliest opportunity means physical deterioration of the probe and JAXA are saying that they may try re-insertion in November 2015, if the conditions are found to be bad by then. P |
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Jan 31 2012, 11:05 PM
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#504
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Member Group: Members Posts: 149 Joined: 18-June 08 Member No.: 4216 |
This news just in. (21:09 31 January 2012, The Yomiuri newspaper) JAXA announced that they will try and re-insesrt Akatsuki into Venus orbit in December 2016, if the prove conditions remain good. In this case, Akatsuki's orbit will be oval in shape and it will have to observe Venus from a distance. However, according to JAXA there will not be much of a problem in observing clouds and atmosphere of Venus. Akatsuki used its smaller engines in November last year to correct its course and is programmed to have its closest encounter in November 2015. However, forcing Akatsuki into a circular orbit at this time will mean an orbit which is not really ideal for atmospheric observation. It is for this reason that they want to opt for June 2016, which is the next closest encounter. However, missing the earliest opportunity means physical deterioration of the probe and JAXA are saying that they may try re-insertion in November 2015, if the conditions are found to be bad by then. P December 2016 isn't too bad, less than 5 years from now. Past missions like Hayabusa showed that the Japanese design a lot of flexibility/versatility into their spacecraft and that helps getting them through tight spots like this one. If they're not too unlucky with solar activity, we might be seeing some first-rate Venus science come 2017.. |
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