EscaPADE

Last updated
EscaPADE
Mission type Mars orbiter
Website escapade.ssl.berkeley.edu
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftBlue and Gold
Manufacturer Rocket Lab
Power Solar panels
Start of mission
Launch date29 September 2024 (planned) [1]
Rocket New Glenn
Launch site Cape Canaveral LC-36
Contractor Blue Origin
 

Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) is a planned spacecraft mission to Mars consisting of two spacecraft known as Blue and Gold. [2] [3] The mission, expected to launch in September 2024, is part of NASA's SIMPLEx program. [4] In May 2024, it was announced the spacecraft reached substantial completion. [5]

Contents

Mission

EscaPADE is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Robert Lillis and colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley. The spacecraft is being built by Rocket Lab based on their "Explorer" spacecraft bus. [6] At an anticipated cost of $79 million (including launch vehicle), the mission will demonstrate low-cost planetary space exploration. The twin spacecraft will study Mars' unique magnetosphere and how solar wind contributed to the loss of most of the planet's atmosphere over solar system history.

Launch

The Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration ("SIMPLEx") program [7] was intended as a program to select small, low-cost space missions to fly as secondary payloads on other NASA missions. As a ride-along mission on another launch, not a main mission, they were intended to have low cost and tolerate a higher level of risk than other NASA missions.

EscaPADE was originally selected from a competition to be a low-cost ride-along "mission of opportunity" to hitch a ride to Mars with the Psyche spacecraft, and drop off as the spacecraft made a fly-by of Mars. Thus, it had an anticipated launch cost of nearly nothing. However, the launch of the Psyche mission was delayed, which meant that when Psyche passes the orbit of Mars, Mars is no longer near the trajectory of Psyche. [7] Rather than cancel the mission, NASA announced that it would go on a different launch vehicle, and requested bids from industry for the launch.

In February 2023, Blue Origin won the contract to launch the mission on the first flight of the New Glenn launch vehicle in September 2024, at a cost of ~$20 million. [1]

Spacecraft

Each identical EscaPADE spacecraft has a dry mass of ~200 kg, with a wet mass of <550 kg. The spacecraft bus is originally adapted from the Rocket Lab Explorer (Photon) third stage and is approximately 60 x 70 x 90 cm. The spacecraft is powered by two 480 x 70 cm solar array wings. Chemical propulsion is provided by thrusters from ArianeSpace. [8] Reaction wheels, inertial measurement units, and star trackers are used to maintain orientation, with cold gas thrusters to desaturate the wheels. Communications are in X-band via a 60 cm diameter dish antenna. A 200 cm boom extends above the spacecraft, hosting the EMAG and ELP mNLP sensors. [3]

After launch, EscaPADE will be directly injected onto an interplanetary trajectory in mid-late September 2024. It will execute one major and a number of minor propulsive maneuvers during its 11 month cruise to Mars. The twin probes will reach Mars in early September 2025 and go into a highly elliptical orbit. Over the following six months the orbit will be lowered and circularized until it reaches the nominal science orbit.

Instruments and science goals

The science goals of EscaPADE are to: [3]

There are three science experiments onboard each identical spacecraft, EMAG, EESA, and ELP. EMAG is a magnetometer that will measure DC magnetic fields up to 1000 nT, mounted at the end of the boom to reduce magnetic noise from the spacecraft. EESA is an electrostatic analyzer designed to measure the energies, fluxes, and masses of suprathermal ions from 2 eV to 20 keV and energies and fluxes of suprathermal electrons from 3 eV to 10 keV. It is mounted on the upper deck of the spacecraft bus, with a 240° x 120° field of view for electrons and 247.5° x 90° field of view for ions. ELP is a Langmuir probe, consisting of three separate sensors: the multi-needle Langmuir probe (mNLP) consists of 4 thin needles mounted in two pairs ~3/4 way up the boom and measures thermal electron density; the two planar ion probes (PIPs) are mounted on the instrument deck and measure thermal ion density, and the floating potential probe (FPP) is also mounted on the spacecraft deck, and measures changes in relative spacecraft electrostatic potential.

Once the nominal science orbit is achieved, approximately six months after arriving at Mars, Science Campaign A involves both spacecraft flying in the same orbit at varying distance from one another, ~170 x 8400 km (5.66 hours) with an inclination of 65 degrees. This will last approximately 6 months, at which time Blue will lower its apoapsis to 7000 km and Gold will raise its apoapsis to 10,000 km. With different orbital periods (4.9 and 6.6 hours), the orbits will precess (due to Mars' nonuniform gravity field) at different rates, and thus separate, allowing simultaneous measurements of distant parts of the Mars magnetosphere. This campaign will operate for approximately 5 months, until the end of the nominal science mission in early March 2027. [3]

Further reading

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space exploration</span> Exploration of space, planets, and moons

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space science.

<i>Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter</i> Canceled NASA orbiter mission to Jupiters icy moons

The Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) was a proposed NASA spacecraft designed to explore the icy moons of Jupiter. The main target was Europa, where an ocean of liquid water may harbor alien life. Ganymede and Callisto, which are now thought to also have liquid, salty oceans beneath their icy surfaces, were also targets of interest for the probe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exploration of Mars</span> Overview of the exploration of Mars

The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habitability potential. Engineering interplanetary journeys is complicated and the exploration of Mars has experienced a high failure rate, especially the early attempts. Roughly sixty percent of all spacecraft destined for Mars failed before completing their missions, with some failing before their observations could even begin. Some missions have been met with unexpected success, such as the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which operated for years beyond their specification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JAXA</span> Japans national air and space agency

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orbit, and is involved in many more advanced missions such as asteroid exploration and possible human exploration of the Moon. Its motto is One JAXA and its corporate slogan is Explore to Realize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar lander</span> Spacecraft intended to land on the surface of the Moon

A lunar lander or Moon lander is a spacecraft designed to land on the surface of the Moon. As of 2024, the Apollo Lunar Module is the only lunar lander to have ever been used in human spaceflight, completing six lunar landings from 1969 to 1972 during the United States' Apollo Program. Several robotic landers have reached the surface, and some have returned samples to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">THEMIS</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission began in February 2007 as a constellation of five NASA satellites to study energy releases from Earth's magnetosphere known as substorms, magnetic phenomena that intensify auroras near Earth's poles. The name of the mission is an acronym alluding to the Titan Themis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of space exploration</span> Overview of and topical guide to space exploration

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to space exploration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Europa Clipper</span> Planned NASA space mission to Jupiter

Europa Clipper is a space probe in development by NASA. Planned for launch in October 2024, the spacecraft is being developed to study the Galilean moon Europa through a series of flybys while in orbit around Jupiter. It is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever developed for a planetary mission.

<i>Psyche</i> (spacecraft) Reconnaissance mission of the main belt asteroid 16 Psyche

Psyche is a NASA Discovery Program space mission launched on October 13, 2023 to explore the origin of planetary cores by orbiting and studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche beginning in 2029. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) manages the project.

The future of space exploration involves both telescopic exploration and the physical exploration of space by robotic spacecraft and human spaceflight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020s in spaceflight</span> Spaceflight-related events during the 2020s

This article documents expected notable spaceflight events during the 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 in spaceflight</span> Spaceflight-related events during the year 2024

The year 2024 is expected to exceed 2023's 223 orbital launches. So far, the year saw the successful first launch of Vulcan Centaur, Gravity-1, and notably the third developmental launch of SpaceX's Starship – IFT-3. Additionally, the final launch of a Delta family rocket occurred in April with a Delta IV Heavy. In May, China launched the Chang'e 6, the first sample return from the far side of the Moon. Following 2020s' trend, it is expected that many more privately-developed launch vehicles will feature a maiden launch in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket Lab Photon</span> Photon is a satellite bus made by Rocket Lab

Photon is a satellite bus based on Rocket Lab's kick stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shannon Curry</span> American planetary physicist

Shannon Curry is a planetary physicist and the Principal Investigator of the NASA Mars Scout mission MAVEN. Dr. Curry is a researcher at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder and an Associate Professor in the university's Astrophysics and Planetary Sciences (APS) Department. Prior to this, she served as the Deputy Assistant Director of Planetary Science at the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration</span> NASA program

Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) is a planetary exploration program operated by NASA. The program funds small, low-cost spacecraft for stand-alone planetary exploration missions. These spacecraft are intended to launch as secondary payloads on other missions and are riskier than Discovery or New Frontiers missions.

References

  1. 1 2 Foust, Jeff (25 April 2024). "NASA planning September launch of Mars smallsat mission on first New Glenn". SpaceNews . Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  2. ↑ Sanders, Robert (2021-08-23). "'Blue' and 'Gold' satellites headed to Mars in 2024". Berkeley News. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "NASA – NSSDCA – Spacecraft – Details". NSSDC . NASA . Retrieved 2023-02-11.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. ↑ Foust, Jeff (13 April 2023). "ESCAPADE confident in planned 2024 New Glenn launch". SpaceNews . Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  5. ↑ @RocketLab (May 1, 2024). "This spacecraft is going to Mars" (Tweet). Retrieved 9 May 2024– via Twitter.
  6. ↑ Hatfield, Miles (August 20, 2021). "NASA’s ESCAPADE Mission – Twin Martian Orbiters – Moves Toward Launch," NASA. Retrieved 23 Nov. 2023.
  7. 1 2 Foust, Jeff (February 20, 2023). "Trials and tribulations of planetary smallsats", The Space Review. Retrieved 23 Nov. 2023.
  8. ↑ 73 International Astronautical Congress (IAC) (18 September 2022), ESCAPADE: A Low-Cost Formation at Mars, Retrieved 21 October 2023
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.