PARIS, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency extended its Mars Express and Venus Express missions until May 2009.
The mission extensions announced Tuesday were unanimously approved by the ESA's Science Program Committee last Friday.
The ESA said the committee's action was in recognition of the outstanding legacy that Mars Express and Venus Express are building for future generations of scientists.
Both missions have allowed an amazing amount of scientific discoveries of the highest quality, the space agency said.
Results achieved by Mars Express so far include the first subsurface radar sounding of another planet; and the first comprehensive study of the mineralogical composition of a planet's surface.
Venus Express, only halfway through its initially planned nominal mission, has revealed features never detected in such detail before. Those include the huge, "double-eyed" atmospheric vortex at Venus South Pole and its 3-D structure.
Mars Express was launched June 2, 2003, and reached Mars six months later. Venus Express was launched Nov. 9, 2005, and arrived to its destination after a five-month journey.
