Japanese Akatsuki space probe finally enters orbit around Venus, five years after first failed attempt

On its second attempt, the Japanese Akatsuki space probe has successfully entered orbit around Venus, more than five years after its May 2010 launch.

The unmanned probe's first attempt at getting into orbit was almost exactly five years ago, on 6 December 2010.

An engine malfunction meant the probe's boosters did not fire for long enough. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) lost contact with it briefly, leaving it to orbit round the sun.

It took years for the probe to get close enough to Venus for it to attempt orbit again, but this time, it worked.

The Akatsuki successfully fired its engines for 20 minutes, slowing it down enough to enter an orbit around Venus, the second planet from the Sun.

Now it has reached its target, the probe, which is 25 million miles from Earth, will spend two days figuring out its orbit before it begins its observations.

Fitted with three infrared cameras, one ultraviolet imager, two lighting cameras and one radio experiment, the probe will study the atmosphere and cloud structure of Venus, potentially revealing lighting and volcanic activity on the planet's surface.