Akatsuki Venus Orbit
Akatsuki successfully enters Venus orbit five years after its first failed insertion attempt.
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Takeshi Imamura Biography and Timeline
Follow Takeshi Imamura through 8 dated historical records for Japan.
Takeshi Imamura, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
8Distinct records
1 of 1Page
2015–2025Years on this page
2015
Akatsuki Recovery Plan
The Akatsuki team prepares a second Venus orbit-insertion attempt using smaller attitude-control thrusters after loss of the main engine.
2016
Akatsuki Science Operations
Akatsuki begins full-scale observations of Venus's atmosphere using ultraviolet, infrared and lightning instruments.
2017
Venus Equatorial Jet
Akatsuki observations reveal a fast equatorial jet in Venus's lower-to-middle cloud layer, showing unexpected variability in atmospheric circulation.
2019
Venus Giant Cloud Pattern
Akatsuki observations reveal a giant streak-like cloud structure produced by large-scale atmospheric waves and high-latitude jets.
2020
Venus Super-Rotation
Analysis of Akatsuki data shows that thermal tides play a major role in maintaining Venus's atmospheric super-rotation.
2021
Venus Thermal Tides
Akatsuki infrared cloud tracking separates day and night circulation patterns and clarifies the role of thermal tides in Venus's atmosphere.
2025
Akatsuki Mission End
JAXA ends Akatsuki operations after more than eight years of Venus orbital observations and major advances in planetary meteorology.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.