Flight International online news 09:30GMT: The European Space Agency's Mars Express mission has been extended by one Martian year, or about 23 months, from the beginning of December 2005.
The extension, says ESA, will allow the spacecraft orbiting Mars to continue building on the legacy of its own scientific success.
Since the start of its science operations in early 2004, Mars Express has revealed a number of new aspects of the Red Planet, including its present-day climate system, and its geological ‘activity’ and diversity. It has also started mapping water in its various states.
In building up a global data set for composition and characteristics of the surface and atmosphere, Mars Express has revealed that volcanic and glacial processes are much more recent than expected.
Thanks to the extension, Mars Express will be able to study for a second year the way the atmosphere varies during different seasons, and to observe again variable phenomena such as frost, fog or ice.
Finally, Mars Express will be able to revisit those areas where major discoveries, such as new volcanic structures, sedimentary layering, methane sources, nightglow and auroras, have been made, allowing it to confirm and study further these discoveries.
ROSS BENTLEY/LONDON
Source: Flight International
