ESA approved the extension of the Hinode mission.
The Science Programme Committee (SPC) in the European Space Agency (ESA) approved the extension of the support in the operation of the Hinode mission for 2 years. ESA has been providing ground stations for retrieving science data from the spacecraft since its launch in 2006. Thus, the ESA's support is essential to continue the Hinode mission.
Scientific achievements of Hinode and importance of covering a full solar cycle were assessed in ESA's Solar System Exploration Working Group (SSEWG) and Space Science Advisory Committee (SSAC). They concluded that the Hinode was ranked as "Category 1", which is the highest rank out of the three categories. The approval of the extension by SPC in ESA is based on the positive recommendation by the SSEWG and SSAC.
The ESA's support of the ground stations in 2011-2012 strongly enhances observations of solar activities gradually increasing toward the next solar maximum.