Extending Planetary Missions

NASA announced today that it approved extensions of eight very successful planetary missions. Their targets range from Mars and nearby asteroids to the most distant reaches of the solar system. Each of the missions went through an evaluation process within NASA. Science panels examined the scientific output of each mission as well as its potential future accomplishments.

OSIRIS-APEX Continues its Asteroid Mission

Asteroids remain high on the planetary mission study list. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) mission is about to deliver some much-anticipated samples from asteroid Bennu. The mission grabbed these bits of the asteroid in 2020.

With the new extension, the mission is changing its name slightly to OSIRIS-APophis EXplorer (OSIRIS-APEX). The name indicates the new exploration goals for the spacecraft which it will fulfill during an encounter with asteroid Apophis in 2029.

Apophis is an S-type asteroid, meaning it’s a stony (siliceous) composition. It’s on an orbit that will bring it to within 20,000 miles (32,000 kilometers) of Earth in 2029. That will give the spacecraft a good “close-up” encounter as it enters orbit around Apophis. If all goes well, the spacecraft’s thrusters will loosen up some dust and small rocks on and below Apophis’ surface and return data for further study.

Extended Planetary Missions at Mars

Several spacecraft currently studying Mars got life extensions, too. They are:

• the InSight mission, the only active seismic station on the Red Planet
• the Mars Science Laboratory (with the Curiosity rover);
• the MAVEN mission (currently studying the Martian atmosphere);
• Mars Odyssey (also doing climate monitoring), which will extend its attention to the thermal studies of rocks and ice beneath the Martian surface;
• and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It has been extended six times now and continues to provide insights into the Mars’ surface, geology, atmosphere, climate, and surface ices.

The extension of these missions continues to provide long-term data about Mars, which is necessary for future explorations by both robotic probes and humans.

Extending a Lunar Planetary Mapping Mission

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been doing a wonderful job giving us long-term studies of lunar geology and mapping the Moon’s surface. It got an extension to study new regions, including the permanently shadowed areas where water ice may exist in some abundance. The Moon is NASA’s next target for renewed human exploration. So, it’s important to get as much information about resources as possible.

A Planetary Mission Explores Distant Reaches

Finally, the New Horizons mission, which successfully explored Pluto and the Kuiper Belt Object called Arrokoth. It’s in its second extended mission, and now has a third extension. Its ultimate job is to explore the distant solar system out to a distance of at least 63 astronomical units. It can do different kinds of observations of additional bodies it might fly by. It will also monitor the influence of the Sun in these distant parts of the solar system.

Going the Limit on Planetary Missions

Each of these spacecraft will, of course, eventually run out of fuel. Or, they will lose components during their missions, Still, NASA weighed the consequences of those future events. Each mission has its limits, of course. But, the extensions they received are good-faith moves. They make the most of the assets we have in near-Earth space, on the Moon, Mars, and out in the Kuiper Belt.

These eight are part of a fleet of 14 spacecraft NASA is operating. In the future, we can expect to see possibly a dozen more missions to the planets, operated by NASA and its international partners in planetary exploration. If you want more details about all the missions, check out the 2022 Planetary Science Senior Review report.

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