According to the Daily Yomiuri, the Japanese Akatsuki probe had a faulty engine valve that prevented it from entering orbit around Venus as planned earlier in December.

A Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) investigation identified five possible causes of the mishap and all stemmed from the valve’s failure to open, the article said. 

     “The agency intends to further investigate why the valve did not open, and how much damage was caused to Akatsuki’s thruster nozzle, by conducting tests that also will indicate whether the probe will be able to go into orbit around Venus when it comes near the planet six years from now.”

The valve is standard hardware used on several space missions and was not modified for the Venus mission, the article said.

 

READ IT AT: [Daily Yomiuri]