Japan's Akatsuki space probe was supposed to go into orbit around Venus December 6. Instead, there was a problem, and Akatsuki sailed right past the planet. The probe's rocket engine failed to fire long enough to insert the spacecraft into orbit.
The cause of the failure is not yet known. The rocket's nozzle could have been the problem, and there is also the possibility, however unlikely, that the spacecraft was hit by an object.
All is not completely lost for the mission, though. Akatsuki's current flightpath will take it back to Venus in 2016 or 2017. At that point, another attempt might be made to put Akatsuki into orbit around Venus and carry out its mission-- a detailed examination of the atmosphere of Venus with an eye towards explaining why that planet turned out so different than Earth.
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