NASA ESCAPADE Set To Launch To Mars On Blue Origin New Glenn This Fall

NASA's Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission is set to launch this fall, no specific date has yet to be determined.

ESCAPADE will feature two identical small satellites, aptly named Blue and Gold, which will be deployed into orbit around Mars. These spacecraft are equipped with instruments designed to study Mars' magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind, promising to yield valuable insights into the planet’s atmospheric dynamics.

The smallsats, constructed by Rocket Lab, are nearing readiness for launch. The Blue spacecraft has successfully completed environmental testing, while the Gold spacecraft is currently undergoing final vibration testing.

“It’s been really exciting to see these two probes finally come together after working on them for so many years,” - Rob Lillis of the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory

The launch of ESCAPADE has garnered significant attention, partly because it will be aboard the inaugural flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. This launch, under a NASA task order awarded in February 2023 and valued at $20 million, marks a significant milestone for both the ESCAPADE mission and Blue Origin’s new rocket.

Despite the anticipation, the precise launch date remains undetermined. At an April COSPAR planetary protection committee meeting, a NASA official mentioned a tentative date of September 29 for ESCAPADE's launch. This date is also referenced on the ESCAPADE website, albeit as a “placeholder.”

The launch window for Mars missions extends roughly through mid-October.

“We don’t know ourselves yet,” - Rob Lillis of the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory

If ESCAPADE launches as planned this fall, the spacecraft will arrive at Mars 48 hours apart in September 2025 and will commence their one-year primary science mission in April 2026. The hope is that these spacecraft, in conjunction with other Mars orbiters from NASA and international agencies, could usher in a “golden era” of Martian magnetosphere studies.

ESCAPADE also serves as a test for the feasibility of small, low-cost spacecraft conducting significant scientific missions beyond Earth. NASA selected ESCAPADE in 2019 as part of its SIMPLEx line of planetary science smallsat missions, along with Janus and Lunar Trailblazer. The Janus mission was shelved due to launch delays that thwarted its planned asteroid flybys, while Lunar Trailblazer is now set to launch later this year as a rideshare on the second Intuitive Machines lander.

“It’s very much an experiment by NASA in reducing costs for planetary missions. Can you do a mission for approximately one-tenth of what NASA would have spent and what risks are you incurring by doing that?...NASA is very interested in the answer to that question.” - Rob Lillis of the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory