Akatsuki Program

Akatsuki was JAXA’s Venus Climate Orbiter program launched on 21 May 2010. After entering Venus orbit in December 2015, it observed Venus’s atmosphere for more than eight years, contributing major findings on planetary meteorology, atmospheric super-rotation, and mountain waves. JAXA terminated operations on 18 September 2025 after communication loss and unsuccessful recovery.

Identity

Aliases: AkatsukiVenus Climate Orbiter AkatsukiPLANET-CVenus Climate Orbiter
Domains: spaceflight
Name: Akatsuki Program
Status: completed
Types: explorationscienceresearchoperations

Details

Description: Akatsuki was JAXA’s Venus Climate Orbiter program launched on 21 May 2010. After entering Venus orbit in December 2015, it observed Venus’s atmosphere for more than eight years, contributing major findings on planetary meteorology, atmospheric super-rotation, and mountain waves. JAXA terminated operations on 18 September 2025 after communication loss and unsuccessful recovery.
End Date: 2025-09-18
Leads
Participants: -
Start Date: 2010-05-21

Assets & Meta

Creation Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:24:27 UTC
Updated Time: August 13, 2026 at 14:24:27 UTC

Other

Official Urls: https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2025/09/20250918-2_e.htmlhttps://akatsuki.isas.jaxa.jp/en/mission/https://global.jaxa.jp/countdown/f17/overview/akatsuki_e.htmlhttps://global.jaxa.jp/activity/pr/jaxas/no077/07.html