This Week in Space 210

Poor Mars. After a warm, wet childhood, the planet dried out and became cold and arid. And why? Mostly because it lost most of its atmosphere, scraped away by solar radiation. NASA's Maven mission studied the phenomenon of atmospheric loss for years, but has now gone silent. Enter Mars ESCAPADE—the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers—twin orbiters that will study the loss of Martian atmosphere more closely than ever before. The mission has been executed at a budget price. was largely built by industry upstart Rocket Lab, and launched on a New Glenn rocket. It will arrive at Mars in 2028, but we're giving you an early look at why it's an important and, frankly, very cool mission.

Headlines:

• SpaceX Unveils Starship V3 Launch Plans
• NASA Details Artemis 3 Earth Orbit Mission Updates
• Psyche Probe Performs Mars Gravity Assist for Asteroid Mission

Main Topic: ESCAPADE Mars Mission—Twin Satellites to Study Atmospheric Loss

• Introducing ESCAPADE: Twin Orbiters for Studying Mars' Upper Atmosphere
• Explaining Why Mars Loses Its Atmosphere and Comparative Planetology
• Stereo Measurements: Scientific Advantages of Two Orbiters Over One
• How ESCAPADE’s Orbits and Science Campaigns Are Structured
• Rocket Lab and Commercial Partnerships Expand Mission Flexibility
• Unique Launch Timing and Innovations in Trajectory Planning
• Early Data from ESCAPADE’s Mission and Earth’s Magnetotail
• Onboard Cameras to Capture Mars Auroras and Possibly Earth-Moon Portraits
• Extended Mission Possibilities and Future Science Goals
• The Role of Space Weather and Mars’ Magnetic Field in Atmospheric Loss
• Implications for Future Mars Missions, Technology, and Human Exploration

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• Transcripts: This Week in Space 210 Transcript

Links

• SpaceX's Starship V3 megarocket finally has a debut launch date. Here's when it will fly
• NASA Outlines Preliminary Artemis III Mission Plans
• NASA's Psyche asteroid probe will fly within 3,000 miles of Mars today: Here's what to expect
• No, this isn't a solar eclipse. It's an image of Mars, captured by NASA's asteroid-bound Psyche probe
• ESCAPADE
• ESCAPADE - UC Berkeley
• ESCAPADE Trajectory Animations