JAXA
Akatsuki Fails to Enter Orbit of Venus
JAXA announced that the Akatsuki spacecraft failed to enter orbit around Venus. The orbit insertion maneuver was performed, the space…
Akatsuki Encounters Problems at Venus
[/caption] Japan's first Venus space probe encountered problems while attempting orbit insertion and went into safe mode. It took longer…
Japan’s Akatsuki to Reach Venus Today
[/caption] Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft will arrive at Venus later today, and will enter orbit around the planet. The box-shaped orbiter…
Separation Camera Takes Full Images and ‘Movie’ of IKAROS Solar Sail
[/caption] Two small "separation cameras" were ejected from JAXA's (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) IKAROS solar sail, which successfully took some…
Hayabusa Sample Return Capsule Retrieved
[/caption] Scientists from Japan were given the go-ahead to retrieve the sample return capsule from the Hayabusa spacecraft, which is…
Japanese Solar Sail Deploys Successfully
[/caption] New images and data from the IKAROS solar sail show the thin solar film has deployed and expanded successfully…
Japan Shoots for Robotic Moon Base by 2020
[/caption] These ARE the droids we've been looking for. The Japanese space agency, JAXA, has plans to build a base…
Japan’s Venus Orbiter and Solar Sail Missions Launch Successfully
Japan's first robotic mission to Venus and an experimental solar sail launched successfully from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern…
Japan to Launch Venus Orbiter and Solar Sail Missions
Bad weather postponed a scheduled multi-mission launch of an H-IIA rocket from Japan early Tuesday, which includes the first Japanese…
Hard-Luck Hayabusa In More Trouble
[/caption] A problem-plagued Japanese mission to an asteroid just may have received its final blow. The Haybusa mission, which went…