Preserve observations after operations end

Akatsuki lost communication in late April 2024. Attempts to restore contact did not succeed, and JAXA formally ended operations on September 18, 2025. Those are different milestones: the last communications period is not the same as the administrative end of recovery efforts. Neither date removes the scientific value of observations already returned to Earth.

When reading an older mission page written in the present tense, check its date against the final operations notice. Similarly, an archive’s recent update date can indicate reprocessed files or improved documentation rather than a new spacecraft observation. Keep the acquisition date, processing version, publication date and operational status separate in your notes.

DARTS distinguishes raw detector counts, calibrated physical measurements, mapped products and derived cloud-motion vectors for UVI. The LIR archive also records calibration revisions, including corrections involving the camera’s hood temperature and changing sensitivity. A more processed product contains useful work, but its assumptions still matter. A map is not simply a raw image saved with a different extension.

For an original research plan, suppose you want to compare cloud-top patterns at two dates. Record the exact files and versions, spectral band, timestamps and geometry; check whether their calibration and mapping are compatible. If instead you want a published wind estimate, a motion-vector dataset may be the appropriate starting point. Preserve its derivation and quality information rather than presenting it as a directly photographed arrow.

Four dates answer four questions

A reproducible course investigation can be modest: identify a pattern, state what the data represent, calculate an illustrative motion and explain the limits. Distinguish measurements from models. A numerical atmospheric model can test whether a proposed mechanism produces a similar pattern, but agreement with one image is not proof that every alternative explanation has been eliminated.

Finish with a traceable conclusion: which observation supports it, which processing was applied, what assumptions were needed and what would change your confidence? Keep original files and their credits when sharing a figure. The ending of an operating spacecraft can be the beginning of many new analyses, provided the evidence remains identifiable and its limitations remain visible.