But project manager Nakamura says: aerobraking would be difficult because the atmosphere of Venus is always expanding and contracting it's hard to forecast ( * *). If the orbit maneuvering engine (OME) was totally broken, aerobraking would be one possible method to attempt orbit entry for Akatsuki ( *).
As for the valves, they were off-the-shelf products from the USA and have been giving satisfactory results so far ( *) So we don't know if a valve failure blocked the flow of helium into the tank this also is just one possibility ( *). So damage to the main thruster nozzle remains just one among several possibilities ( *). The ceramic nozzle of the main thruster may be damaged, but there is no way to observe it directly ( *).
