EscaPADE
| Mission type | Mars orbiter | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website | escapade | ||||||||
| Mission duration | 2.5 years (planned) | ||||||||
| Spacecraft properties | |||||||||
| Spacecraft | Blue and Gold | ||||||||
| Bus | Photon | ||||||||
| Manufacturer | Rocket Lab | ||||||||
| Launch mass | Total: 180 kg (400 lb) Individual: 90 kg (200 lb) | ||||||||
| Dimensions | 60 × 70 × 90 cm (24 × 28 × 35 in) | ||||||||
| Power | 260 watts | ||||||||
| Start of mission | |||||||||
| Launch date | NET Spring 2025 (planned) | ||||||||
| Rocket | New Glenn | ||||||||
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral, LC-36 | ||||||||
| Contractor | Blue Origin | ||||||||
| Orbital parameters | |||||||||
| Reference system | Areocentric | ||||||||
| Periareion altitude | 160 km (99 mi) | ||||||||
| Apoareion altitude | 7,000–10,000 km (4,300–6,200 mi) | ||||||||
| Inclination | 60° | ||||||||
| Mars orbiter | |||||||||
| Orbital insertion | September 2027 (planned) | ||||||||
| Transponders | |||||||||
| Bandwidth | X band | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Mission logo SIMPLEx program | |||||||||
Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) is a planned spacecraft mission to Mars consisting of two spacecraft known as Blue and Gold. The mission is led by UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory with Dr. Robert Lillis as Principal Investigator. Once expected to launch in October 2024, it is part of NASA's SIMPLEx program. In August 2024 the spacecraft arrived at the launch site. However, NASA postponed the launch due to schedule and technical issues involved with the mission's New Glenn launch vehicle, which was set to debut with the launch of these spacecraft. Launch on the New Glenn is now set for sometime in 2025 or 2026, with Mars arrival set for September 2027.