NASA Mars SmallSat Mission to be on First New Glenn Launch.
WASHINGTON - NASA has selected Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket to launch the agency's Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission to Mars. This will be the first launch of the New Glenn rocket, and it is expected to take place in late 2024.
ESCAPADE is a mission that will study the Martian magnetosphere, the region of space around Mars that is shaped by the planet's magnetic field. The mission will use two identical small spacecraft, which will be launched together and will travel to Mars in the same orbit. Once they reach Mars, the spacecraft will separate and enter different orbits around the planet. This will allow them to make simultaneous measurements of the Martian magnetosphere from two different vantage points.
The ESCAPADE spacecraft will each carry three instruments: a magnetometer to measure the strength and direction of the magnetic field, an electrostatic analyzer to measure the composition and energy of charged particles, and a Langmuir probe to measure the density of plasma in the magnetosphere. The data collected by these instruments will help scientists to better understand how the Martian magnetosphere interacts with the solar wind, the stream of charged particles that flows from the Sun.
ESCAPADE is part of NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. SIMPLEx is a program that is designed to fund low-cost, high-science-return missions to other planets and moons in the solar system. ESCAPADE is one of several SIMPLEx missions that are currently in development.
The selection of the New Glenn rocket to launch ESCAPADE is a major milestone for Blue Origin. The company has been working on the New Glenn rocket for several years, and this is the first time that the rocket has been selected to launch a NASA mission. Blue Origin is hoping that the successful launch of ESCAPADE will help to establish the company as a major player in the commercial launch industry.
For NASA, the selection of the New Glenn rocket is a sign of the agency's commitment to working with commercial partners to explore space. NASA has been increasingly relying on commercial companies to launch its spacecraft, and the agency is hoping that this trend will continue in the future.
The launch of ESCAPADE is expected to be a major event in the space industry. It will be the first time that a commercial rocket has launched a mission to Mars, and it will be a significant step forward in our understanding of the Martian magnetosphere.