Japan Lost Contact With "Planet C" Spacecraft, Leaving Humanity With No Presence Around Venus

Fifteen years after launch, Japan has announced the end of the "Planet C" mission, leaving humanity with no presence around Venus. In May 2010, Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the "Planet C" spacecraft – also known as "Akatsuki" or the Venus Climate Orbiter – towards Earth's "sister planet". But due to a malfunction with the main engine, the planned 12-minute burn lasted just three, and Planet C shot well past its target instead. The probe has had a few other minor issues in the intervening years, shutting down two of its five cameras in 2016 to keep it going. But spacecraft do not last forever, and in 2024, JAXA lost contact with Planet C. Over a year later, the team has finally called time on humanity's only operational Venus probe.