NASA's 2 ESCAPADE Probes Nail Powered Earth Flybys for Mars After Missing 2024 Window
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Nov 10
NASA's 2 ESCAPADE Probes Nail Powered Earth Flybys for Mars After Missing 2024 Window
3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Nov 10
Summary
Two ESCAPADE spacecraft completed flawless engine burns on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9 inside Earth's gravity well, becoming the first NASA mission to use powered Earth flybys to head for Mars.
The maneuver was needed after New Glenn delays pushed the mission past the 2024 Earth-Mars launch window, forcing NASA to design a yearlong looping 'loitering' orbit that brought the probes back to Earth this month.
September 2027 is now the target Mars arrival after minor course corrections, with the twin spacecraft set to study how solar wind shapes the planet's patchy magnetic environment.
During the detour, ESCAPADE also gathered unprecedented data on Earth's distant magnetotail from as far as 1.19 million miles away, including a four-spacecraft observing campaign with ARTEMIS-THEMIS near the moon.