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NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes slingshot around Earth in unprecedented double 'gravity assist'
Space.com · By Meghan Bartels ·
The Brief · written from 2 sources
- Two NASA ESCAPADE smallsats have completed flybys of Earth and are headed toward Mars.
- The flybys came nearly a year after launch, and Space.com describes the double gravity assist as unprecedented.
- The spacecraft launched in November 2025 on the second-ever flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.
Why it matters
The maneuver shows that a pair of small spacecraft can use a double Earth gravity assist to reach Mars, a technique that could inform future low-cost interplanetary missions.
Who’s affected
- planetary scientists and space mission engineers
- readers following NASA's Mars missions
Twin NASA spacecraft are wrapping up a year-long escapade, ready to make a beeline to the Red Planet. The Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) spacecraft launched in November 2025 on the second-ever flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. But rather…
Timeline
Twin ESCAPADE spacecraft reported to have completed Earth flybys and to be on course for Mars
SpaceNews
ESCAPADE on its way to Mars after Earth flybys
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NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes slingshot around Earth in unprecedented double 'gravity assist'