Strawberry Loft

Hatsune Miku is the virtual pop star who has done it all. Live performances, collaborations with powerhouse brands, and now she’s racing with Sonic while still finding time to write more songs. She never stops moving onto her next exciting adventure announced in shouts around the internet. Somehow though I never knew she went to space until they pulled the plug on her little satellite.

Miku wasn’t the focal point for the satellite as far as its purpose. It’s not like we sent her space to see if we could still hear her among the stars, it would have been kind of cool if it played music though. The satellite was created by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency or JAXA. The satellite’s name was Akatsuki, and it was the little satellite that could. When Akatsuki first took off for Venus in May of 2010 she actually ran into some engine problems and was unable to enter Venus’s orbit. Akatsuki stayed strong and wandered space with Miku as her support for five years before JAXA was able to replace the main engine. Once Akatsuki was in the right spot she took beautiful photos of Venus demystifying the planet. Akatsuki played a vital part in the research of Venus’s super rotation which means Venus’s atmosphere spins faster than Venus itself.

 How did Miku get wrapped up in space exploration? Marketing! JAXA encouraged people to send in notes and drawings that would go into space on Akatsuki, and Miku fans made sure to send their work in . Miku’s fans from around the world came together making sure Miku would go to space with the supportive sendoff she deserved. Organizing through the power of the internet Miku fans were able to send in 13,000 pieces of unique art and written notes. It sounded like a fun gimmick, but people really poured their hearts into creating art that Venus would have the privilege of looking at as Akatsuki circled. I originally pictured the scientists filling the satellite with art as if the device was a hollow time capsule. If you search for the Miku satellite art, however you can see that the actual panels of the satellite with Hatsune Miku art and letters pressed into the aluminum plates. In total there were 90 panels made and Hatsune Miku was prominently displayed on three of them. With the art snuggly in place on Akatsuki she was launched into space. I’m sure it was quite the sendoff.

The Akatsuki satellite started making headlines again because unfortunately the Venus mission has come to an end. I felt like I learned about space Miku only to lose her in the same moment. In 2024 JAXA was unable to communicate with Akatsuki and slowly realized a mission to recover the satellite would be difficult. On September 18^th, 2025, Akatsuki, the satellite that made Miku a star, was taken offline the mission officially ending after 15 years. I wonder what it was like to learn that your art or note would be going to space far enough away than you’d never see it, but you would know it existed out there somewhere. As with most things revolving around Miku it sounds magical, and I know she shared all of her fan’s messages with the stars. If anyone wrote down a wish, I’m sure Miku found a shooting star just for them. This may be the coolest thing that has ever been done with fan letters and art.