A powerful new Japanese spacecraft and experimental solar sail blasted off together on Thursday (Eastern Time) to start a six-month trek to explore Venus and cosmic parts beyond.
One mission is aimed at uncovering the secrets of Venus and its cloud-covered surface, while the other could become the first interplanetary solar sail to successfully fly in space. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is backing both spaceflights.
More: Venus Probe (http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/japan-venus-wrap-100520.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+spaceheadlines+(SPACE.com+Headline+Feed))
On May 17 Japan's Space Agency JAXA plans to launch its Planet-C Venus Climate Orbiter 'AKATSUKI' mission to Venus.
Also aboard will be UNITEC-1, a 15 kg, 35cm cubed nano-satellite developed by twenty two universities and colleges of UNISEC (University Space Engineering Consortium).
More: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/may2010/unitec_1.htm
The Amateur tracking network sounds exciting.
Carole
...but requires some serious high-frequency kit. ;)
A tiny space camera has snapped amazing photos of the world's first solar sail spacecraft to voyage into deep space on an interplanetary mission for Japan.
The solar sail vehicle, named Ikaros, took the opportunity for a self-portrait by deploying a free-floating cylindrical camera just 2.4 inches (6 cm) in both width and height. In the photos, the Ikaros sail shines like a gleaming silver ship in a sea of black space.
The spring-launched camera snapped the new photos of the solar sail as the mission departs for Venus and beyond
More: Ikaros (http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/worlds-first-solar-sail-photo-japan-100618.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+spaceheadlines+(SPACE.com+Headline+Feed))