Under the contract, ESCAPADE will launch from Space Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the New Glenn rocket built by Blue Origin

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ESCAPADE spacecraft in orbit around Mars as per an illustration. (Credit: Rocket Lab USA/UC Berkeley)

NASA has awarded a task order to Blue Origin to provide launch service for the agency’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, whose aim is to study the magnetosphere of Mars.

The task order awarded to the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company is part of NASA’s Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract.

As part of VADR, the maximum total value of fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts is $300m across all contracts and come with a five-year ordering period.

Under the contract, ESCAPADE will launch from Space Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on the New Glenn rocket built by Blue Origin.

The launch of ESCAPADE is expected in late 2024.

Blue Origin New Glenn senior vice president Jarrett Jones said: “ESCAPADE follows a long tradition of NASA Mars science and exploration missions, and we’re thrilled NASA’s Launch Services Program has selected New Glenn to launch the instruments that will study Mars’ magnetosphere.”

A total of 13 companies have been selected by the US federal space agency for the VADR contracts in 2022.

ESCAPADE is part of the Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) programme of NASA. It will use twin spacecraft to study how Mars’ magnetosphere interacts with the solar wind as well as how plasma and energy enter and leave the magnetosphere.

Each satellite will be equipped with three instruments, including a magnetometer for measuring the magnetic field, an electrostatic analyser for measuring ions and electrons, and a Langmuir probe for measuring the density of plasma and solar extreme ultraviolet flux.

ESCAPADE will take nearly 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth’s orbit.

In November 2022, NASA selected Rocket Lab USA to provide the launch service for its Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission.