Posted: Thu, May 12, 2011, 7:43 AM ET (1143 GMT)
The Japanese space agency JAXA has ended efforts to try and recover an Earth sciences spacecraft that suffered a malfunction last month, sending commands to shut down the satellite. The Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), also known as Daichi, went to a safe mode on April 22 when the spacecraft's solar panel stopped generating power. Efforts to restore power failed, and on Thursday controllers sent commands to the spacecraft to shut down its transmitter and drain its batteries, effectively ending the mission. ALOS, launched by JAXA in January 2006, carried visible, infrared, and radar instruments to provide imagery and other data for mapping and disaster monitoring. The spacecraft had a design life of three years.

Related Links:

•  Spaceflight Now article
•  JAXA press release