NASA’s ESCAPADE Twins Head to Mars After Earth Flybys
Two spacecraft used Earth’s gravity and engine burns to start a 10-month trip to Mars, where they will study the solar wind and atmospheric loss.
By shahzad
6 min read2 readers
In this story
Key takeaways
NASA confirmed on November 9, 2026, that both ESCAPADE spacecraft completed powered flybys of Earth and are now on course for Mars.
The probes combined Earth’s gravity with engine burns lasting about nine minutes; one passed roughly 1,000 miles above Earth on November 7, and the other about 650 miles above Earth on November 9.
Mars orbit-insertion burns are planned for September 7 and September 9, 2027. NASA expects the mission’s main science operations to begin in June 2028.
NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft completed their powered Earth flybys on November 7 and November 9, 2026, and have begun a roughly 10-month cruise toward Mars. The two orbiters will study how the solar wind interacts with Mars and contributes to the loss of the planet’s atmosphere.
What happened
NASA announced on November 9, 2026, that both spacecraft in its ESCAPADE mission had completed a powered flyby of Earth. The maneuver paired Earth’s gravity with a sustained engine burn to send each probe onto a trajectory toward Mars.
The first spacecraft, named Blue, made its closest approach at about 5 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 7, 2026. It passed roughly 1,000 miles above Earth and fired its engine for about nine minutes. Its twin, Gold, followed at about 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on November 9, passing roughly 650 miles above the planet before completing a similar burn.
NASA says this is the first time the agency has used a powered Earth flyby to propel a spacecraft toward Mars. The mission’s route began after the probes launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 13, 2025. Because Earth and Mars were on opposite sides of the Sun at launch, the spacecraft first entered a long “loiter” orbit around the Earth-Sun Lagrange point 2, a gravitational balancing region about one million miles from Earth. They later returned for the flybys when the planets were better aligned.
The University of California, Berkeley, which leads the mission, also confirmed the November 7 and November 9 maneuvers. Its mission team says the burns put the twin spacecraft on trajectories that intersect with Mars’s orbit. NASA’s mission update and UC Berkeley’s account of the spacecraft’s departure from Earth provide the technical timeline.
ESCAPADE is an orbital science mission. The spacecraft are not scheduled to land on Mars; they will enter orbit and fly in formation so researchers can observe the planet’s space environment from two locations.
Why it matters
Analysis: The important part of this milestone is the route, not just the destination. A powered gravity assist combines a planet’s gravitational pull with an engine burn during a close pass. That gives mission planners another way to shape a spacecraft’s path after launch.
ESCAPADE spent nearly a year in a holding orbit before returning to Earth for the powered flybys. NASA says this approach could give future missions more flexibility to launch outside the usual direct Earth-to-Mars transfer window, rather than waiting for the planets to line up favorably. That is a potential planning advantage, not proof that every Mars mission will become cheaper or faster.
The science target matters as well. NASA describes the solar wind as a stream of material flowing from the Sun at about a million miles per hour. The two orbiters will measure how that stream interacts with Mars and how the interaction contributes to atmospheric loss. Understanding that process can help scientists explain how Mars’s environment changed over time and assess the challenges facing future human exploration.
The mission is funded through NASA’s SIMPLEx program, which supports innovative planetary missions with smaller budgets. It is led by UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with partners including Rocket Lab, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space and Blue Origin.
This is separate from NASA’s lunar work. Big Zero has also covered the agency’s Moon Base Student Challenge and its planned nuclear-powered lunar rover. ESCAPADE, by contrast, is focused on Mars’s atmosphere and the solar wind.
What it means for you
There is no consumer action or deadline tied to the flybys. For readers following space exploration, the useful next step is to track the mission’s public milestones and distinguish navigation progress from scientific results. The spacecraft have completed the Earth maneuvers, but they have not yet reached Mars.
The next milestones on NASA’s current schedule are:
September 7 and September 9, 2027: planned engine burns to slow the two spacecraft and place them in Mars orbit.
June 2028: expected start of the mission’s main science operations, after the orbiters have had time to arrange themselves into their initial formation.
During the cruise, NASA says the spacecraft will make trajectory-correction maneuvers to keep them on course. Those adjustments are part of the plan; the published Mars dates are targets, not a guarantee that no schedule changes will occur.
What is still unknown and what to watch next
The Earth flybys are a navigation milestone, not a completed scientific result about Mars. The probes still have a long cruise ahead, and they must perform their planned Mars orbit-insertion burns before the main science campaign can begin.
NASA has not yet reported the results of the planned Mars-orbit observations because that phase is not expected to start until June 2028. Watch for updates on the spacecraft’s trajectory, any changes to the September 2027 insertion schedule, and the first measurements of how the solar wind interacts with Mars.
The mission’s eventual findings may improve scientists’ understanding of atmospheric loss, but they will not by themselves settle every question about Mars’s climate history or what future crewed missions will require. Those conclusions will depend on the data collected and how researchers interpret it.
FAQ
What is NASA’s ESCAPADE mission?
ESCAPADE stands for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers. It uses two spacecraft that will orbit Mars and study how the solar wind interacts with the planet’s space environment.
What is a powered Earth flyby?
A powered Earth flyby uses Earth’s gravity and a spacecraft engine burn during a close approach to change the spacecraft’s trajectory. NASA used the technique to send both ESCAPADE probes toward Mars after their extended loiter orbit.
When will the ESCAPADE spacecraft reach Mars?
NASA’s current plan calls for Mars orbit-insertion burns on September 7 and September 9, 2027. The spacecraft are expected to enter orbit two days apart, with science operations scheduled to begin in June 2028.
What will the two spacecraft study?
They will measure how the solar wind interacts with Mars and how that interaction contributes to the loss of the planet’s atmosphere. Flying in formation will let researchers compare observations from two locations around Mars.
Bottom line
Both ESCAPADE spacecraft have completed their powered Earth flybys and are on course for Mars, but the mission’s main science is still ahead. The next major dates to watch are the planned September 2027 orbit insertions and the expected start of science operations in June 2028.
