The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft will have its mission extended by one Martian year - approximately 23 months - beginning December 2005. Since it began science operations in early 2004, Mars Express has made several findings: volcanic and glacial processes happened quite recently; there are small quantities of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere, which could indicate life; and large bodies of liquid water might have lasted under the surface of Mars for a long period of time.