A Japanese infrared astronomy satellite, known before its launch in 2006 February as ASTRO-F; the name means ‘light’ in Japanese. Akari carried a 0.69-m telescope equipped with two main instruments: the Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS), which made an all-sky survey in the wavelength range 50–180 μ‎m; and the InfraRed Camera (IRC) for targeted observations in the near and medium infrared range, 1.7–25.6 μ‎m. Akari’s observations extended and improved those of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). It ceased observations in 2011 June.

http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/en/missions/spacecraft/past/akari.html Mission page at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.