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NASA’s two ESCAPADE spacecraft have each completed an Earth flyby, on 7 and 9 November. Each pass combined Earth’s gravity with an engine burn lasting about nine minutes, setting the spacecraft on course for Mars. NASA confirmed the result on 9 November: arrival is planned for September 2027 and has not happened yet. [1]
After their November 2025 launch, the spacecraft followed a waiting route before returning close to Earth. At Mars they are intended to study together how the solar wind, the stream of particles from the Sun, interacts with the planet’s environment and drives atmospheric loss. The science campaign is expected to begin in summer 2028; the cruise, course corrections and orbit insertion still lie ahead. [1]
The bright side
Two successful manoeuvres begin the next leg of a mission designed to observe the same environment from two locations. [1]
One idea, in simple words
Two NASA spacecraft called ESCAPADE are travelling towards Mars. They passed close to Earth on 7 and 9 November. Each fired its engine for about nine minutes while also using our planet’s gravity to change its journey. Gravity is the attraction between objects: it is not a rope, although we can imagine a curve helping something take a new direction. The manoeuvres succeeded, but the spacecraft have not reached Mars yet. Arrival is planned for September 2027. Later, they are meant to observe how particles arriving from the Sun interact with the planet. Instruments in two different places can help compare what happens at the same time. First, the spacecraft still have a long journey to complete. [1]
A little discovery to keep
What did you discover?
Straight from the source.
- NASA’s ESCAPADE Completes Powered Earth Flybys, Now En Route to Mars NASA · 9 Nov 2026
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