ESCAPADE

The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) are a dual-spacecraft mission to study ion and sputtered escape from Mars. The two identical spacecraft were scheduled for launch as secondary satellites on the Psyche mission in August 2022 but were removed due to problems with the required trajectory. The science goals of the mission are to: understand the processes controlling the structure of Mars' hybrid magnetosphere and how it guides ion flows; understand how energy and momentum are transported from the solar wind through Mars' magnetosphere; and understand the processes controlling the flow of energy and matter into and out of the collisional atmosphere. EscaPADE is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program. There are three science experiments onboard each spacecraft, EMAG, EESA, and ELP. EMAG is a magnetometer measuring DC magnetic fields up to 1000 nT, mounted at the end and part way up the boom. EESA is an electrostatic analyzer that measures suprathermal ions from 2 eV to 20 keV and suprathermal electrons from 3 eV to 10 keV. It is mounted on the upper deck of the spacecraft bus. ELP is a Langmuir probe measuring plasma density from 20 - 30,000 particles per cubic cm and solar EUV flux from 5 - 20 milliwatts per square meter and is mounted on the boom and on the spacecraft bus.

Demonstration of Viasat's InRange launch telemetry relay service as part of its work with NASA’s Communications Services Project (CSP). Viasat's user terminal and InRange solution will be integrated onto and remain attached to the New Glenn launch vehicle to showcase this innovative space-based launch communications capability.