Two spacecraft are set to embark on an unprecedented, winding journey to Mars, where they will investigate why this happened The barren red planet It began losing its atmosphere billions of years ago.
The mission, called EscaPADE, aims for an orbital path that has never been attempted before, according to Advanced Space, which is supporting the project. If successful, it could be a crucial case study that could allow extraordinary flexibility for future planetary science missions.
The robotic mission plans to spend a year idling on an orbital backroad before heading to its target destination. The project is part of NASA Simplexor the Small and Innovative Planetary Exploration Missions Program, aims to incentivize researchers and companies to devise ways to use small spacecraft to conduct scientific investigations for pennies on the dollar.
The EscaPADE program, short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers, led by UC Berkeley, is among the most ambitious projects.
“We don’t use the word ‘cheap.’ “We say: high value,” joked Jeff Parker, chief technology officer at Colorado-based Advanced Space, which is involved in the project alongside California-based Rocket Lab. “We’re delivering science at the level of missions that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, but on a low budget.”
It was the cost of EscaPADE Less than $100 millioncompared to approx 300 million dollars to 600 million dollars Price tags for other NASA satellites orbiting Mars.
The spacecraft is scheduled to lift off atop Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket — the first time the new launch vehicle has flown with valuable cargo on board — as soon as 2:45 p.m. ET on Sunday from Space Force Station Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The launch attempt could be affected by the government shutdown if it is postponed beyond this weekend. Blue Origin said In a statement it is “working closely with the FAA to ensure New Glenn’s upcoming launch of the ESCAPADE mission to Mars continues.”
Outside the Transfer Window
Normally, spacecraft heading to Mars wait until the planet is in prime alignment with Earth during a period called the “transit window.” These launch opportunities span a few weeks and occur approximately every 26 months, allowing the spacecraft to take a fast path toward the Red Planet.
When EscaPADE was originally designed, it was expected to take a direct route.
But a quagmire of launch delays, changes in mission plans and other timing quirks left the orbiters without a flight when the final Mars transit window closed in late 2024.
Instead of waiting for the next major opportunity in 2026, mission designers chose to get creative, coming up with a “launch and hang around” approach that could allow EscaPADE to make a flight on any day of any year and still reach Mars with reserve fuel.
“The idea is to launch at any time, wait until the planets align perfectly, and then set off on your interplanetary journey to Mars,” Parker explained.
After liftoff, the EscaPADE dual spacecraft will soar into deep space. But instead of heading toward Mars, the two orbiters will target Lagrange point 2, or L2, a cosmic equilibrium point about 1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Earth.
Lagrange points are special because they act as gravity wells where the attraction of the Sun and the Earth is in perfect balance. Conditions could allow the spacecraft to survive without being towed away.
Point L2 also provides a “really cool radiation environment” in terms of outer space, as the spacecraft will remain “in a very high orbit outside the radiation belts,” Parker noted.
The spacecraft will then rotate infinitely in a bean-shaped orbit around L2 until the Mars transit window opens next year. The EscaPADE rovers will then briefly swing around Earth in November 2026, allowing them to finally head to Mars.
Regardless of what day the EscaPADE mission launches, the two spacecraft will enter Mars orbit in September 2027.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifts off Jan. 16 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. – John Rooks/AP
A risky endeavor
But the pioneering plan has its drawbacks.
“Spacecraft components get corroded in space,” Parker said. “So, no matter what, this adds a little bit of risk.”
Accepting this additional risk is essential to help reduce costs, Parker said. Doing so means that mission operators must acknowledge that success is not guaranteed.
Other low-cost missions conducted under NASA’s SIMPLEx program have failed due to a range of setbacks, including Moon pioneerWhich ended due to communication problems Luna mapwhich experienced launch delays that left the spacecraft in a suboptimal condition.
If successful, the EscaPADE project could be the first bright spot in NASA’s drive to do planetary science cheaply. It only takes one step to make the program worthwhile, Parker said.
“If SIMPLex, which drives these high-value missions, succeeds in one out of three missions, that is still a much higher value than traditional cost-effective missions,” Parker said.
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