
NASA extends planetary science missions at Mars and Jupiter
NASA is ready to give missions at Mars and Jupiter a little more time to continue their investigations, although there's no guarantee they will finish out their extended missions.
NASA's Juno mission is exploring Jupiter from orbit, beaming back amazing photos, atmospheric data and other observations about the largest planet in our solar system. The Juno probe launched Aug. 5, 2011 and arrived in orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016. It is the farthest space probe ever to be powered by solar arrays. The $1.1 billion mission is expected to run through July 2021, but the science of Jupiter it returns will last a lifetime. Learn more about Juno's Jupiter discoveries here.