's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science said that it lost contact with Akatsuki "after an operation in late April due to an extended period of low attitude stability control mode."
Should the probe remain silent, however, its loss will mean that humanity will be cut off from its sole source of up-close observations of the strange, hellish planet.Officially known as the Venus Climate Orbiter mission , Akatsuki was launched by JAXA in 2010 and, after a few screw-ups, Its contributions have been invaluable to astronomers, especially considering lengthy Venus missions are few and far between. Our most detailed images of its surface. The Venusian atmosphere is so thick with carbon dioxide that the pressures it creates can crush metal. Temperatures are hot enough to even melt some metals too, often exceeding 800 degrees Fahrenheit. And of course, there's its haze of corrosive clouds that make observing its surface extremely difficult.