NASA's ESCAPADE mission to study Mars's magnetic field: All details

Technology Nov 05, 2025

NASA is launching ESCAPADE on November 9, 2024, using Blue Origin's giant New Glenn rocket.
Two small spacecraft—Blue and Gold—will team up to explore how solar wind affects Mars's magnetic field and why the Red Planet keeps losing its atmosphere.
It's NASA's first dual-spacecraft orbital science mission to Mars.

Mission timeline and key players

First, the duo will hang out near Earth for a year to check out space weather.
Then they'll make a 10-month trip to Mars in late 2026, aiming to arrive by September 2027.
Once there, they'll spend almost a year measuring magnetic fields and charged particles around Mars.
The mission is led by UC Berkeley with help from Rocket Lab, bringing some serious teamwork (and tech) to this cosmic road trip.