Forengner
09-12-2010, 22:29
A Japanese probe sent on a two-year mission to Venus failed to enter orbit and may have flown past the planet.
The failure on Wednesday was a big letdown for Japan's space program. But Japan's space agency, called JAXA, has not given up hope.
"Unfortunately, it did not attain an orbit. But it appears to be functioning and we may be able to try again when it passes by Venus six years from now," Hitoshi Soeno of JAXA said.
Iako je misija neuspesna,pretpostavlja se da ce Japan nastaviti sa ozbiljnijim projektima.
The failure in the crucial orbital insertion stage of the probe was a big letdown for Japan, which has never succeeded in an interplanetary mission but has marked some major successes in space on a relatively tight budget that is focused primarily on small-scale science projects.
The probe, called Akatsuki, which means dawn, reached Venus on Tuesday and fired its engines in an attempt to reach an elliptical orbit. Mission officials said they briefly lost contact after that and determined Wednesday that Akatsuki's engines did not fire long enough to attain the proper orbiting position.
Ipak,Japan je manje ulagao u svemirske programe od Rusije i Amerike,koje to cine jos od Hladnog rata.
The failure on Wednesday was a big letdown for Japan's space program. But Japan's space agency, called JAXA, has not given up hope.
"Unfortunately, it did not attain an orbit. But it appears to be functioning and we may be able to try again when it passes by Venus six years from now," Hitoshi Soeno of JAXA said.
Iako je misija neuspesna,pretpostavlja se da ce Japan nastaviti sa ozbiljnijim projektima.
The failure in the crucial orbital insertion stage of the probe was a big letdown for Japan, which has never succeeded in an interplanetary mission but has marked some major successes in space on a relatively tight budget that is focused primarily on small-scale science projects.
The probe, called Akatsuki, which means dawn, reached Venus on Tuesday and fired its engines in an attempt to reach an elliptical orbit. Mission officials said they briefly lost contact after that and determined Wednesday that Akatsuki's engines did not fire long enough to attain the proper orbiting position.
Ipak,Japan je manje ulagao u svemirske programe od Rusije i Amerike,koje to cine jos od Hladnog rata.