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Title: Blue Origin Postpones Attempt to Launch Unique ''EscaPADE' Orbiters to
Mars

Link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/11/09/1...

UPDATE (1:16 PST) Today's launch has been scrubbed due to weather, and Blue
Origin is now reviewing opportunities for new launch windows. Sunday Morning
Blue Origin livestreamed the planned launch of its New Glenn rocket, which
will carry a very unique mission for NASA. "Twin spacecraft are set to take
off on an unprecedented, winding journey to Mars," reports CNN, "where they
will investigate why the barren red planet began to lose its atmosphere
billions of years ago." By observing two Mars locations simultaneously, this
mission can measure how Mars responds to space weather in real time - and how
the Martian magnetosphere changes... Called EscaPADE, the mission will aim
for an orbital trajectory that has never been attempted before, according to
aerospace company Advanced Space, which is supporting the project. If
successful, it could be a crucial case study that can allow extraordinary
flexibility for planetary science missions down the road. The robotic mission
plans to spend a year idling in an orbital backroad before heading to its
target destination... [R]ather than turning toward Mars, the two orbiters
will instead aim for Lagrange Point 2, or L2 - a cosmic balance point about
1.5 million kilometers (930,000 miles) from Earth. Lagrange points are
special because they act as gravitational wells in which the pull of the sun
and Earth are in perfect balance. The conditions can allow spacecraft to
linger without being dragged away... The spacecraft will then loop endlessly
in a kidney bean-shaped orbit around L2 until next year's Mars transfer
window opens. This "launch and loiter" project is part of NASA's SIMPLEx
[Small, Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration] program, which seeks
high-value missions for less money, notes CNN. "EscaPADE's cost was less than
$100 million, compared with the roughly $300 million to $600 million price
tags of other NASA satellites orbiting Mars." "Blue Origin is also attempting
to land and recover New Glenn's first-stage booster," notes another CNN
article.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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