JAXA’s Akatsuki orbiter, launched in 2010, became the agency’s first interplanetary mission and entered orbit around Venus in December 2015.

For over eight years, it monitored the planet’s atmosphere, mapping clouds, detecting lightning, and measuring temperature and atmospheric structure using multiple instruments.

Communication with the spacecraft was lost in April 2024, and JAXA officially ended the mission on September 18, 2025, after recovery attempts failed, Space.com has reported.

During its mission, Akatsuki made key discoveries, including the largest stationary gravity wave in the Solar System and new insights into Venus’ high-speed atmospheric circulation, fulfilling its goal of advancing Venusian meteorology.