NASA extends missions of nine planetary spacecraft

New York Times : On 1 July, NASA announced mission extensions for nine current spacecraft that have already completed their primary missions. The New Horizons probe, which flew past Pluto, will continue on to study the Kuiper belt object 2014 MU69. The other funded missions are Dawn, which is orbiting Ceres; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter; the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution orbiter; the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers on Mars; the Mars Odyssey orbiter; and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express, for which NASA is providing support. Extensions for most of the missions were expected, but the inclusion of Dawn surprised the team that is managing the mission. The craft is low on fuel because of its reliance on thrusters after the failure of two reaction wheels. Now Dawn will remain in place around Ceres, where it will continue to make observations as the dwarf planet approaches perihelion.