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Japan prepares for Venus countdown

Nature (2010)Cite this article

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Akatsuki probe could help to explain why Venus is so different from Earth.

This week, Japan is shipping its Venus Climate Orbiter to the southwestern island of Tanegashima, where the satellite's launch is scheduled for 18 May. Project directors at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) say they hope that the orbiter, Akatsuki (dawn), will resolve mysteries including how the atmosphere of Earth's scorching hot neighbour is able to 'super rotate' at speeds of up to 60 times that of its host planet.

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References

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  1. David Cyranoski
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Cyranoski, D. Japan prepares for Venus countdown. Nature (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2010.126

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/news.2010.126

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