Subsequent NASA mission will assist future astronauts on Mars

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — NASA and Blue Origin are planning to launch the ESCAPADE mission, the place a pair of satellites will examine Mars’ magnetosphere. ESCAPADE will finally assist future astronauts, the mission’s lead scientist shared. 

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket will launch the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission someday subsequent week.

Before that occurs, the mission’s principal investigator Dr. Rob Lillis shared a bit extra about ESCAPADE and the way it will assist people as soon as they get to Mars.

Taking us on an ESCAPADE

This NASA mission is managed by the Space Sciences Laboratory on the University of California, Berkeley, together with Rocket Lab, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Florida’s Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Advanced Space LLC, and Blue Origin, defined Lillis.

The two satellites — known as Blue and Gold in honor of the University of California, Berkeley’s colours, stated Lillis — will probably be used to check Mars’ magnetic and house climate.

“The two spacecraft … will be characterizing the magnetic and space weather (i.e. plasma, radiation) environment on their way to Mars, then after they achieve Mars orbit, they’ll be measuring this environment in the solar wind and within Mars’ upper atmosphere, including rates of atmospheric escape,” Lillis defined to Spectrum News in an e-mail interview.

There are many advantages to having two satellites for a mission like this, as will probably be simpler to measure photo voltaic winds and different circumstances, he acknowledged.

“With a single orbiter (satellite), we could measure conditions in the upstream solar wind, but then have to wait a couple of hours before the spacecraft orbit brought us into the upper atmosphere to measure the rates of atmospheric escape. That’s too long: we know the space weather propagates through the system in only one or two minutes. With ESCAPADE, we can measure cause and effect at the same time, i.e. the solar wind and upper atmosphere simultaneously.  To start to understand this highly dynamic system, we need that cause-and-effect perspective,” in accordance with Lillis.

How the Martian magnetosphere can inform a narrative

Mars’ magnetosphere is distinct and sophisticated because of the magnetic and plasma setting that surrounds the planet, which is brought on by the robust magnetized rocks within the planet’s crust and the electrical currents within the higher ambiance created by photo voltaic and atmospheric winds, Lillis commented.

And it’s why the magnetosphere is so totally different from different planets in our little photo voltaic system.

“Unlike Earth, Mars’ relatively weak and patchy magnetosphere means it provides less of a protective barrier from the solar wind, which continuously eats away at Mars’ atmosphere. Studying this process helps scientists understand how Mars’ atmosphere has changed over time and what conditions might have been like in the past. For instance, a stronger ancient magnetosphere probably protected Mars’ atmosphere and surface from harsh solar radiation, possibly creating conditions more favorable for life,” Lillis shared.

But additionally understanding Mars’ magnetosphere may also help with future human missions to the Red Planet, famous Lillis.

“Knowing how Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere interacts with potentially dangerous space weather helps us better forecast its effects and design better protection for both spacecraft and astronauts, both on the surface and in orbit.  In addition, variability in Mars’ ionosphere can distort radio signals, causing difficulties for human communication and navigation on the surface,” he wrote.

Lillis added that when people journey to Mars, they might want to depend on correct house climate to remain protected from photo voltaic radiation storms, and understanding the magnetosphere and higher ambiance will assist with that.

If the mission does launch on the finish of this yr and if the lengthy commute goes nicely, it’ll nonetheless be a nail-biting expertise, Lillis shared.

“We will be biting our nails on September 1, 2027, as we await confirmation that Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) has gone smoothly. This is what we call a ‘do or die’ maneuver: if the engines fail to fire at just the right time and for just the right duration, the spacecraft could be stranded in their own orbits around the sun, never to come back to Mars. If we are successful, we’ll be celebrating at our Mission Ops Center in the hills above the UC Berkeley campus, with a couple of cheeky beverages I’m sure,” he acknowledged.