[[Home|🏠]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> [[Missions]] <span style="color: LightSlateGray">></span> ESCAPADE ## Mission Details **Customer:** [[NASA]], [[University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory]] In 2021 Rocket Lab was awarded a subcontract by the [[University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory]] (UCBSSL) to design two [[Explorer]] (then called Photon) spacecraft for a scientific mission to Mars. The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, led by [Rob Lillis at UCBSSL](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-lillis-35ab943/), is a twin-spacecraft science mission that will orbit two spacecraft around Mars to understand the structure, composition, variability, and dynamics of Mars' unique hybrid magnetosphere. The mission will leverage its unique dual viewpoint on the Mars environment to explore how the solar wind strips atmosphere away from Mars to better understand how its climate has changed over time. ESCAPADE is being developed under [NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx)](https://soma.larc.nasa.gov/simplex/) program in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The mission is led by UCBSSL with spacecraft design provided by Rocket Lab. The two spacecraft were originally planned for launch in 2024 to Mars ridesharing aboard a [[NASA]]-provided commercial launch vehicle (New Glenn) but delays from [[Blue Origin]] pushed the mission. EscaPADE is a twin-spacecraft [[⚖️ NASA Mission and Instrument Risk Classification#Class D|Class D]] mission dedicated to studying the transfer of solar wind energy and momentum through Mars’ unique hybrid magnetosphere and how it drives ion and sputtering escape. Graphic: University of California, Berkeley 🔗 https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/escapade ![[Pasted image 20250702185920.png]] ## Launch 🚀 Planned launch on [New Glenn](https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn) Flight 2 NET August 15 2025, but more likely mid-to-late September ([source](https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/06/the-second-launch-of-new-glenn-will-aim-for-mars/)). New Glenn will deploy two spacecraft on a direct interplanetary trajectory. NASA will pay Blue Origin ~$20 million for the launch. Delayed from 13 October 2024; it was originally intended to be launched on the debut flight of New Glenn. ## Spacecraft & Payloads #### x2 Identical [[Explorer]] spacecraft ![[Explorer#ESCAPADE]] ## Objectives ✅ Understand the processes controlling the structure of Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere and how it guides ion flows. ✅ Understand how energy and momentum is transported from the solar wind through Mars’ magnetosphere. ✅ Understand the processes controlling the flow of energy and matter into and out of the collisional atmosphere. ## Mission Phases 🔗 [Source - eoPortal](https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/escapade#missionphases) The EscaPADE mission is split up into seven phases, starting with its launch from Earth and finishing with decommissioning after the primary science is complete. ### 1. Launch and Orbit Raise The first phase of EscaPADE’s mission involves the launch of both the Blue and Gold spacecraft from Earth, their commissioning phases, and the manoeuvres required to initiate their interplanetary cruise. The spacecraft will be launched into an initial Sun-synchronous orbit as secondary payloads on a rideshare mission. The orbits of each spacecraft will then be systematically raised prior to trans-Mars injection (TMI), of which Blue will enter 48 hours prior to Gold. 5) The design of EscaPADE permits TMI starting from various potential Earth orbits thanks to a general-purpose orbit raise and plane change approach. ### 2. Interplanetary Cruise The two spacecraft will travel to Mars in a Type II transfer, which has a longer duration than Type I transfers, but delivers spacecraft with a lower arrival velocity, which better suits orbital missions. NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) will communicate with both spacecraft simultaneously, termed multiple spacecraft per aperture (MSPA), once they are one third of the way to Mars, and a sufficiently small angular size in the sky. 5) 11) Blue will perform its TMI first (TMI-B), but will arrive after Gold in order to satisfy the trajectory correction manoeuvre (TCM) budget. ![[Pasted image 20250711172134.png]] EscaPADE’s interplanetary cruise trajectory diagram, which includes seven TCMs (indicated by stars) before MOI. (Image credit: UC Berkeley) ### 3. Mars Orbit Insertion The Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) for the two EscaPADE spacecraft will be separated by 48 hours as done with TMI, which reduces the cost needed during the mission’s interplanetary cruise to establish MSPA. The MOI consists of inertially fixed manoeuvres designed to inject the spacecraft into Mars capture orbits with 60 hour periods, and is planned to commence approximately one month prior to the mission’s arrival. Both spacecraft will target an altitude of 450 km above the Martian surface, and will be performed by an inertially-pointed chemical propulsion burn. As the spacecraft enter the Mars capture orbit, instruments can be tested and calibrated as they pass through unimpeded solar wind at Mars apoapsis (known as apoareion) and the Martian magnetosphere at Mars periapsis (periareion). Phase three is completed when the spacecraft have entered safe and stable orbits around Mars. 5) ### 4. Orbit Reduction Upon the completion of MOI, the EscaPADE spacecraft will reduce the size of their orbits through a series of burns, placing them in safer orbits and correcting any insertion errors. Each spacecraft will perform an apoapse reduction manoeuvre (ARM), coast for two weeks, then perform a periapse reduction manoeuvre (PRM). The ARMs target a desired orbital period while the PRMs target a periapse altitude. These manoeuvres are designed such that the orbits do not intersect and the spacecraft have no chance of collision. 5) During Phase Four, the mission will experience a solar conjunction, which occurs when the spacecraft are positioned on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth, thereby limiting communication capabilities. Throughout this period, both the Blue and Gold spacecraft will maintain safe and stable orbits. ### 5. Transition to Science Formation At the end of the solar conjunction, Blue and Gold will begin their transition to science formation (TSF) phase, through the lowering of their altitude to an orbit of 8,400 km x 160 km. Both spacecraft will be inserted into this orbit as they target a leader-follower flying formation with a 0 - 30 minute separation, with Blue leading. This is achieved by matching orbital periods, planes (within one degree), and apoapsis altitudes (within 10 km). The TSF phase is expected to consist of eight or nine burns. ### 6. Primary Science EscaPADE’s primary science phase has an 11-month duration split into two science campaigns; six months in Campaign A and five in Campaign B. The phase commences once the spacecraft have established their leader-follower flying formation. Science Campaign B requires the satellites having different apoapse altitudes, in which Blue raises its apoapse to 10,000 km and Gold reduces to 7,000 km. Science Campaign A involves the measurement of dynamic properties of the Martian environment through observations of the same region with a temporal separation. The leader-follower or ‘string-of-pearls’ flying formation with a variable separation will allow for time-varying processes to be investigated. The orbit selected for Science Campaign A is such that the spacecraft traverse through the maximum ion density. With the spacecraft operating independently from different orbits in Science Campaign B, the mission will investigate spatially varying properties of Mars’ near-space environment. ### 7. Decommissioning The EscaPADE spacecraft will be retired at the end of the mission according to NASA policy, degrading their orbits passively and eventually burning up upon entering the Martian atmosphere. ## News %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ``` table published as "Published" from "News" where contains(mission, [[ESCAPADE]]) sort published desc ``` %% | File | Published | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | | [[News/Rocket Lab Ships Twin Satellites to Launch Site for NASA Mars Mission Rocket Lab.md\|Rocket Lab Ships Twin Satellites to Launch Site for NASA Mars Mission Rocket Lab]] | August 16, 2024 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Completes Integration and Testing of Twin Spacecraft for NASA Mars Mission.md\|Rocket Lab Completes Integration and Testing of Twin Spacecraft for NASA Mars Mission]] | July 29, 2024 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Integrating Twin Spacecraft for Mission to Mars for NASA.md\|Rocket Lab Integrating Twin Spacecraft for Mission to Mars for NASA]] | October 18, 2023 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Spacecraft Confirmed for Mars as NASA Greenlights ESCAPADE Small Satellite Interplanetary Mission.md\|Rocket Lab Spacecraft Confirmed for Mars as NASA Greenlights ESCAPADE Small Satellite Interplanetary Mission]] | August 23, 2021 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Awarded Contract to Design Twin Spacecraft for Mars.md\|Rocket Lab Awarded Contract to Design Twin Spacecraft for Mars]] | June 15, 2021 | %% DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %% ## Media  🔗 Backup Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8Hn1GNz5oo ---  🔗 Backup Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBa5ZIt_M2c ## Links [🔗 NASA](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/) 🔗 [Rocket Lab](https://rocketlabcorp.com/missions/escapade/) 🔗 [EO Portal](https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/escapade)