NASA's ESCAPADE to pave the way for future crewed and robotic Mars missions

Unlike Earth, Mars does not have a global magnetic field. The Red Planet instead has a patchy magnetic field. As a result, when solar wind hits, some atmospheric particles get excited and escape into space. This is called atmospheric escape.

To ensure future human and robotic missions to Mars are successful, it is necessary to understand the planet’s magnetic field and its interaction with solar wind. This is what NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) will address.

ESCAPADE will launch a twin spacecraft to Mars’ orbit. The mission will study the structure of Mars’ magnetic field. It will provide insights into how this magnetic field controls the movement of particles around the planet and how the field responds to solar wind. This observation will reveal how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time.

After deciding to stand down from a launch attempt last year, NASA and its partners have now scheduled ESCAPADE to launch no earlier than this fall. The twin spacecraft will launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

The spacecraft arrived at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville, Florida, on September 16. There, engineers will complete inspections and functional tests before the two spacecraft, each weighing hundreds of kilograms and about 60 × 70 × 90 cm in size, are made ready for launch.