On November 13, NASA’s ESCAPADE mission was launched from Cape Canaveral, USA. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket placed two spacecraft into orbit. These small high-tech spacecraft are the first in history that will study the orbit of another planet in sync. Their task is to understand how solar wind affected Mars’ climate, turning it from a potentially habitable world into a cold, dry desert. At the same time, the mission turned out to be remarkably inexpensive: just $80–90 million, compared with about $2.7 billion for the Perseverance mission.
The spacecraft will reach the Lagrange point L2 and then, after performing a gravity assist, head toward Mars. This approach will make it possible to launch similar missions at any time and not wait for the Mars launch window, which opens roughly once every 26 months, when Earth and Mars line up so that a spacecraft can travel there with minimal fuel use. Arrival at the planet is expected in September 2027. After that, the spacecraft will begin studying the Martian atmosphere and how quickly and how strongly its "weather" changes.
Special attention in the mission will be given to the ionosphere, a key atmospheric layer for future radio communications, navigation, and astronaut operations on the surface. Studying it is important in preparation for crewed expeditions. Along with the spacecraft, an experimental module from Viasat Inc. was launched, and it has already demonstrated the ability to transmit data via geostationary satellites — a step toward more reliable and faster communication in space.
