M Thomas Apple Author Page

Originally designed to operate for just one year around Mars, MAVEN’s mission was repeatedly extended, enabling the most extensive research into the workings of the Martian atmosphere ever attempted.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-declares-end-mars-orbiter-maven-mission

Thanks to MAVEN, we know how the Mars atmosphere has been eroded by solar wind over billions of years. Designed to work for a single year, it operated for over eleven years.