NASA’s upcoming Mars mission, ESCAPADE, aims to explore the solar wind’s effects on Mars’ atmosphere using two spacecraft. The launch, scheduled for October 13, employs Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, emphasizing cost-effective commercial partnerships.
NASA’s next science mission to Mars is targeted to launch no earlier than Sunday, October 13, on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The agency’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission consists of two spacecraft, designed and built by Rocket Lab, operating as a coordinated pair. The spacecraft will investigate how a stream of particles from the Sun called the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.
Blue Origin LLC of Kent, Washington, was awarded a task order to provide launch service for ESCAPADE as part of the agency’s VADR (Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract. NASA’s venture class approach lowers launch costs for more risk-tolerant science payloads by using less agency oversight, giving the commercial company greater flexibility in managing the launch services for the mission.
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