Understanding our planet from twin sister “Venus”

AKATSUKI (PLANET-C) is a one of the planetary exploration projects　developed to unravel the mysteries of Venus.
AKATSUKI is equipped with five cameras capable of obtaining images of Venusian atmosphere in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet ranges and also with an ultra-stable oscillator used to measure the vertical profiles of temperature and other factors.
With these devices, AKATSUKI investigates the flow and constituents of the atmosphere, as well as the presence of lightning and volcanic activity.
On April 24, 2020, JAXA announced that super-rotation of Venus is caused by thermal tide, by analyzing the images and temperature data obtained from AKATSUKI.
Venus has long been referred to as Earth’s sister planet because it has things in common such as its size and distance from sun. However Venus is actually radically different from the Earth, so such investigations will provide us with clues to understanding our Earth.
AKATSUKI was launched on May 20, 2010 with H-IIA 17 launched vehicle.

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