UC Berkeley's First Planetary Mission Launches Twin Satellites to Mars

“ESCAPADE breaks the paradigm of multi-hundred million and billion dollar planetary missions, building on the MAVEN Mars orbiter’s legacy for a fraction of the cost.”

NASA’s ESCAPADE mission launched November 13 aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, marking UC Berkeley’s first planetary mission. The twin satellites, dubbed Blue and Gold, will study how solar wind stripped Mars of most of its atmosphere over billions of years. The entire mission costs under $80 million, far below typical planetary missions. The spacecraft won’t reach Mars orbit until September 2027, taking an unusual year-long loop around Earth first.