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The last probe orbiting Venus has just shut down, and that's not good news

Artist's illustration representing Venus and space. (Image source: BrunoAlbino - Pixabay)
Artist's illustration representing Venus and space. (Image source: BrunoAlbino - Pixabay)
Today, there are no more probes in orbit around Venus, and that's not good news. In addition, we will certainly have to wait several years before this happens again.

Venus is often considered to be the twin of Earth, notably due to certain similarities. But for the first time in several years, no probe is orbiting this planet, and that's bad news.

Thus, in 2010, the Akatsuki probe was launched towards Venus in order to observe this planet. However, shortly after the launch, astronomers were unable to start the main engine, propelling the probe at high speed beyond its initial destination.

But astronomers persisted, and after five years, Akatsuki has successfully approached Venus. And the results obtained were unique, as they have solved many mysteries concerning the atmosphere of this planet. That's not all, because astronomers also used weather instruments on another planet for the first time.

However, after ten years, Akatsuki is out of service, and it is impossible to reactivate this probe. As a result, Venus finds itself without a probe orbiting it, which could be a problem.

Indeed, it has provided answers to many questions, whether it is about the formation of planets or their composition. But one of the most significant problems concerns asteroids located near Venus, which could pose a threat to Earth.

Therefore, it is necessary to send back a probe around this planet in order to complete several studies and obtain new answers. But due to budget constraints faced by NASA and ESA, this could take years.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2025 11 > The last probe orbiting Venus has just shut down, and that's not good news
Alexis Stegmann, 2025-11- 5 (Update: 2025-11- 5)