Akatsuki, Japan’s mission to Venus. It was accompanied by Ikaros, the first solar sail, still in solar orbit today, and Shin’en, an interplanetary probe that lost contact shortly after separating from the mother probe. Akatsuki, at the crucial moment of entering Venusian orbit, went into safe mode, and missed the opportunity. But the Japanese team did not lose heart: they devised a rescue plan and, on December 7, 2015, fired its thrusters. Against all odds, it managed to enter Venusian orbit, subsequently taking fantastic photographs.
