NASA’s ESCAPADE Mission Will Send Twin Probes to Uncover Mars’s Atmospheric Secrets

NASA is launching a mission, ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) composed of two probes, the same kind of probes, to Mars. These mini-satellites are named Blue and Gold and will be launched collectively this fall on the new New Glenn rocket in Florida, where they will examine the upper atmosphere and magnetic conditions of the Red Planet. This is the first two-satellite trip to another planet that seeks to discover how the air and surface water of the planet Mars were previously lost.

Mission Goals and Technology

According to NASA, ESCAPADE will launch in early November aboard Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, carrying two identical mini-satellites built by Rocket Lab with instruments from UC Berkeley and other partners. Once at Mars, the twin probes (nicknamed Blue and Gold) will fly in formation, making simultaneous measurements of charged particles and magnetic fields. This 3D “stereo” perspective lets scientists map how the solar wind energises Mars' upper atmosphere and drives particles into space. The mission's main goal is to understand how solar activity strips away Mars's air over time—a key piece of the planet's climate history.

Mars's Watery Past

Mars is a cold, dry desert now, but scientists know that the planet had much more water billions of years ago. Geological evidence for features such as river valleys and water-carved minerals indicates that it was likely also once wetter, with a significantly thicker atmosphere. Around 4 billion years ago, Mars lost its global magnetic field, which evacuated an important shield. Without that shield, the solar wind gradually stripped away most of the air, leaving Mars with a wafer-thin atmosphere, less than half a of 1% as thick as Earth's.