TWiS 210: ESCAPADES at Mars - Dr. Robert Lillis of the Mars ESCAPADE Mission

About this episode

The episode discusses the Mars ESCAPADE mission and its significance in studying atmospheric loss on Mars.

Poor Mars. After a warm, wet childhood, the planet dried out and became cold and arid. And why? Mostly because it lost most of its atmosphere, scraped away by solar radiation. NASA's Maven mission studied the phenomenon of atmospheric loss for years, but has now gone silent. Enter Mars ESCAPADE—the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers—twin orbiters that will study the loss of Martian atmosphere more closely than ever before. The mission has been executed at a budget price. was largely built by industry upstart Rocket Lab, and launched on a New Glenn rocket. It will arrive at Mars in 2028, but we're giving you an early look at why it's an important and, frankly, very cool mission. Headlines: SpaceX Unveils Starship V3 Launch Plans NASA Details Artemis 3 Earth Orbit Mission Updates Psyche Probe Performs Mars Gravity Assist for Asteroid Mission Main Topic: ESCAPADE Mars Mission—Twin Satellites to Study Atmospheric Loss Introducing ESCAPADE: Twin Orbiters for Studying Mars' Upper Atmosphere Explaining Why Mars Loses Its Atmosphere and Comparative Planetology Stereo Measurements: Scientific Advantages of Two Orbiters Over One How ESCAPADE's Orbits and Science…

People in this episode

Host: TWiT

Guest: Dr. Robert Lillis

Topics covered

• Mars ESCAPADE Mission
• Atmospheric Loss
• Twin Satellites
• Rocket Lab
• Mars Exploration
• Comparative Planetology

Keywords

• Mars
• ESCAPADE
• atmosphere
• Rocket Lab
• NASA
• twin orbiters
• space exploration
• Maven
• gravity assist

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NASA, Rocket Lab, Mars ESCAPADE, Maven

Products: New Glenn

Places: Mars

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