The first coordinated multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to the Red Planet, ESCAPADE’s twin orbiters will take simultaneous observations from different locations around Mars to reveal the planet’s real-time response to space weather and how the Martian magnetosphere changes over time.
ESCAPADE will analyze how Mars’ magnetic field guides particle flows around the planet, how energy and momentum are transported from the solar wind through the magnetosphere, and what processes control the flow of energy and matter into and out of the Martian atmosphere. The data returned from the ESCAPADE spacecraft will provide new insight into the evolution of Mars’ climate, contributing to the body of research investigating how Mars began losing its atmosphere and water system.
The ESCAPADE mission is managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC, and Blue Origin.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 375333, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14664/#media_group_375333", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Music Credit: \"Inviolable\" by Bob E. Thole [BUMA] via Universal Production Music
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Duo of NASA spacecraft launching next week to solve a cosmic cold case", "description": "Associated cut b-roll will be posted by 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 6. || ESCAPADE_banner.jpeg (1800x720) [138.2 KB] || ESCAPADE_banner_print.jpg (1024x409) [69.7 KB] || ESCAPADE_banner_searchweb.png (320x180) [57.1 KB] || ESCAPADE_banner_thm.png (80x40) [5.5 KB] || ", "release_date": "2025-11-07T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2025-10-29T12:30:26.787353-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1158879, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014910/ESCAPADE_banner.jpeg", "filename": "ESCAPADE_banner.jpeg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Associated cut b-roll will be posted by 3 p.m. EST on Thursday, Nov. 6.", "width": 1800, "height": 720, "pixels": 1296000 } }, { "id": 14675, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14675/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "ESCAPADE Testing and Integration", "description": "The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE, will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape.The spacecraft were designed, built, integrated, and tested by Rocket Lab at their Spacecraft Production Complex and Headquarters in Long Beach, California. Based on Rocket Lab’s Explorer spacecraft, a configurable, high delta-V interplanetary platform, the duo features Rocket Lab-built components and subsystems, including solar panels, star trackers, propellant tanks, reaction wheels, reaction control systems, radios, and more.The ESCAPADE mission is managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC, and Blue Origin. || ", "release_date": "2024-09-03T17:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-09-11T15:40:29.041203-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1098230, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014600/a014675/ESCAPADE_Spacecraft_Full_Integration_01_print.jpg", "filename": "ESCAPADE_Spacecraft_Full_Integration_01_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Image of the fully integrated ESCAPADE spacecraft in the clean room at Rocket Lab’s Space Systems Production Complex and Headquarters in Long Beach, California, before they are shipped to Astrotech Space Operations for pre-launch preparations.Photo Credit: Rocket Lab USA", "width": 1024, "height": 682, "pixels": 698368 } }, { "id": 14642, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14642/", "page_type": "Infographic", "title": "ESCAPADE Spacecraft Specifications", "description": "The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, led by Rob Lillis at the University of California, Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory (UCBSSL), 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) program in the Science Mission Directorate (SMD). The mission is led by UCBSSL with spacecraft design provided by Rocket Lab.The spacecraft were designed, built, integrated, and tested at Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California. 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Two identical spacecraft will orbit around the Red Planet to understand the structure, composition, variability, and dynamics of Mars’ unique hybrid magnetosphere, including its real-time response to space weather.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 — so much that Mars no longer supports liquid water on its surface. The pair will be the first coordinated multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to Mars.ESCAPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. The mission is managed by the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with key partners Rocket Lab, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC, and Blue Origin. || ", "release_date": "2024-07-22T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-11-13T12:07:04-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1095460, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014600/a014635/RL_ESCAPADE_Beauty_Shot001.00181_print.jpg", "filename": "RL_ESCAPADE_Beauty_Shot001.00181_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ESCAPADE twin spacecraft entering Mars’ orbit. Note this is stylized: the spacecraft arrive at Mars 48 hours apart.Credits: James Rattray/Rocket Lab USA", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }