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ESCAPADE

NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) is an active two-spacecraft Mars mission studying how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere and drives atmospheric escape.

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Identity

Aliases
Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics ExplorersESCAPADE Mission
Name
ESCAPADE
Status
active

Details

Astronauts
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Description
NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) is an active two-spacecraft Mars mission studying how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere and drives atmospheric escape.
Destination
Earth–Sun L2 loiter orbit en route to coordinated Mars orbits (160–10,000 km) for studying the Martian magnetosphere and atmospheric escape
Outcome
Successful launch and active cruise. ESCAPADE’s twin orbiters launched on 13 November 2025 and entered an Earth–Sun L2 loiter orbit for a later Earth gravity assist toward Mars. They are expected to reach Mars in September 2027 and begin coordinated science operations in 2028 to study how the solar wind drives atmospheric escape and shapes Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere.
Programs
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Start Date
2025-11-13
Vehicle Families
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Links

Assets & Meta

Creation Time
August 13, 2026 at 18:03:20 UTC
Updated Time
September 8, 2026 at 08:43:12 UTC

Other

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Space Stations
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