NASA extends 8 space missions

NASA announced about the extension of 8 missions that will help expand knowledge about objects in the solar system and beyond. Here are the missions we're talking about:

• Mars Odyssey (launched in 2001) - the orbiter will conduct new thermal studies of rocks and ice under the surface of the planet, and will also monitor the level of radiation and climate, while supporting other research vehicles on Mars.
• MRO (Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2005) is another orbiter that will continue to study the evolution of the surface of Mars, its geology, atmosphere and climate. It will also support other missions.
• New Horizons (launched in 2006) - spacecraft, showing us photos of Pluto, will continue to explore the outer reaches of the solar system.
• LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched in 2009) - the device will continue to study the surface and geology of the moon. It will be able to capture new regions further from the poles with unprecedented accuracy - including craters of eternal darkness - places that are never illuminated by the Sun, in which icy water. The device will also be useful in further attempts.
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  land again to the satellite.
• MSL (Mars Science Laboratory, launched in 2011) - a mission in which the Curiosity rover was delivered to Mars, which has already traveled 27 kilometers along Gale Crater. He will continue to explore the possibility of the existence of water and life on the planet.
• MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, launched in 2014) is a station that studies the loss of Mars' atmosphere. Given that solar activity will soon reach the peak of the 11-year cycle, further research MAVEN will deepen our understanding of how the upper atmosphere and the magnetic field interact with Sun.
• OSIRIS-APEX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, launched in 2016) - OSIRIS-REx is currently returning to Earth with samples from the asteroid Bennu collected in 2020 year. After the delivery of the cargo in 2023, it will be renamed OSIRIS-APEX and sent to explore Apophis, a 370-meter asteroid that will pass near the Earth in 2029.
• InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy, and Heat Transport, launched in 2018) - the only active seismic station outside the Earth will continue to study "marsquakes". Data from the station helps scientists better understand the features of the activity and formation of Mars.