March: Escapade Mission Main Extension

Go away. That’s the name given to NASA’s next mission to Mars, short for ” Escape and Plasma acceleration and dynamics Explorers According to NASA, this is the first orbital science mission to rely on multiple spacecraft into space. He walksIn this “escape”, the US space agency decided to rely on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket when it took off from Cape Canaveral.

For these various missions to the Moon, Mars or even the International Space Station, NASA is multiplying partners, and this will be the first flight of this rocket, named in honor of John Glenn. The first stage of New Glenn is designed to accommodate at least 25 flights, and it operates like a commercial airliner.

New Glenn’s first voyage

With twice the typical payload volume, customers have greater flexibility in packing their payload. The rocket will therefore be able to carry more than 13 tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and 45 tons to low Earth orbit (LEO).

In fact, the Escapade mission will carry two small satellites, called Blue and Gold, that were built by Rocket Lab in California for NASA and the Space Science Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, and were just packed in California for shipment to Florida this week.

Once in orbit around Mars, they will aim to observe the plasma and magnetic fields around the planet to better understand the processes that tear atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. This could help explain why Mars’ atmosphere is so thin and how it has changed over time.

Planned takeoff at the end of September

Once it arrived at Kennedy Space Center, Orlando Sentinel Both satellites will reportedly be directed to a clean room for post-transport inspections and testing. The probes will then be placed on New Glenn from the platform. but ratherOrigin of the European Union In Cape Canaveral.

However, to reach Mars, Jeff Bezos’ new rocket will need to perform its first test, with a launch period starting in September and ending in October. The Escapade mission website lists a launch date of September 29, and it will be 11 months before the satellites reach Mars.

For NASA, this launch will have broad test value since the agency will also rely on Blue Origin and New Glenn for one of two crewed lunar landing systems from the Artemis program, Blue Moon.