SpaceNews: ESCAPADE mission to Mars still scheduled to launch in the fall
The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission to Mars is still scheduled to launch this fall on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. reports SpaceNews.
The mission’s launch plans were confirmed at the 45th Scientific Assembly of the Committee on Space Research by Rob Lillis of the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. According to him, the launch will take place in October, not September.
The publication recalls that ESCAPADE includes two small satellites, Blue and Gold, which are planned to be launched into orbit around Mars. The purpose of the spacecraft is to study the magnetosphere of Mars and its interaction with the solar wind. According to Rocket Lab, the manufacturer of the spacecraft, the latter are almost ready for launch. If the satellites are launched in the fall, they will arrive at Mars in September 2025 and begin their work in April 2026.
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In November 2023, SpaceNews, citing the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, reported that during its first launch, Blue Origin’s advanced New Glenn heavy-lift rocket would launch two cubesats for the ESCAPADE mission.
In November 2022, the publication reported that the contract for the ESCAPADE launch between NASA and Blue Origin was worth $20 million.
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