ESCAPADE\u2019s goal is to study the current state of the Martian magnetosphere, and how the planet lost most of its now tenuous atmosphere to the solar wind. ESCAPADE will use two spacecraft (dubbed Blue and Gold, the school colors of the University of California at Berkeley) to make simultaneous measurements from separate vantage points.<\/p>\n
The mission is part of NASA\u2019s SIMPLEx (Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration) program, seeking to field low cost, $55 million dollar cost cap missions. UC Berkeley\u2019s Space Sciences Laboratory runs the mission, which launched on a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket<\/a> on November 13th, 2025. The twin Blue and Gold spacecraft were built by Rocket Lab, and the missions were processed at Astrotech\u2019s Space Operations Facility in Titusville Florida prior to launch.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The two spacecraft will arrive in orbit around Mars several days apart late next year in September 2027. <\/p>\n The images were captured using the mission\u2019s visible and infrared sensors. The Sun-Earth L2 point is 1.5 million kilometers distant. The images were captured earlier this month on July 3rd. <\/p>\n Both Earth and the Moon are 8% sunlit crescents in the scene, with the Sun just out of frame to the observer\u2019s right. Though it seems counter-intuitive, the dim Moon is actually closer to the spacecraft at the time when the image was captured, at a range of 186,100 kilometers versus the Earth which is 584,600 kilometers distant.<\/p>\n The image offers a good study in albedo<\/a> or reflectivity. Earth is around 30% reflective overall, mostly due to brilliant light reflecting off of our cloud-tops. In contrast, the Moon is a dull 7%, about the same as worn asphalt. The image also managed to get the Moon sized nearly the same as the Earth. Earth is almost a four times the diameter of the Moon, but the Moon is just over a third the distance of the Earth as seen in the image.<\/p>\n Earth\u2019s glowing night-side in infrared really gives it away, shinning at -10 to -44 Fahrenheit. That might might seem chilly, but it\u2019s still 250-280 Kelvin above absolute zero. The nighttime side of the Moon, however, is a frigid 280 F (100K).<\/p>\n But the images are more than just pretty pictures of home. Mission researchers are using the opportunity to test and calibrate spacecraft instruments.<\/p>\n “We are thrilled that ESCAPADE was able to accommodate these excellent space-qualified cameras which will search for visible Martian aurora and investigate thermal properties of the Martian surface and atmosphere,\u201d says Rob Lillis (UC Berkeley) in a recent press release<\/a>. \u201cSince Earth and the Moon are well-known targets, imaging them provides an important calibration check for ESCAPADE\u2019s cameras.\u201d <\/p>\n The mission\u2019s innovative path to Mars by sending ESCAPADE to loiter or \u2018hang out\u2019 at the L2 point means that it was able to launch outside of the normal Mars window. This flexibility means that ESCAPADE didn\u2019t need to wait for the 26-month launch window offering an optimal flight trajectory to the Red Planet, and could instead launch at a time of the mission controllers\u2019 choosing. ESCAPADE was originally slated to hitch a ride with NASA\u2019s Psyche mission, which just flew past Mars<\/a> on May 15th. <\/p>\n ESCAPADE is currently tracing out a kidney-shaped track around the Sun-Earth L2 point. Missions often orbit L2 in a stable Lissajous or halo orbit. An L2 rollcall includes ESA\u2019s Gaia and Euclid missions<\/a>, and the James Webb Space Telescope. <\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen Earth via flybys and courtesy of outbound missions before, including Galileo<\/a>, the Voyager missions, and Cassini in 1999. Osiris-REX captured a portrait of Earth during the 2017 flyby: <\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ESCAPADE_Unboxed_at_Astrotech_KSC-20240822-PH-KLS01_0016_20260729_142746.jpg\"\/)
<\/a> The twin Blue and Gold ESCAPADE spacecraft ahead of launch. Credit: Astrotech.<\/p>\n![\"Earth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot_2026-07-28_130341_20260729_142347.png\"\/)
<\/a> Earth (left) and the Moon (right) seen in ESCAPADE’s infrared view. Credit: NASA\/UCB-SSL\/NAU-Radiant\/Lucint.<\/p>\n![\"ESCAPADE's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ESCAPADE_L2_as_flown_2026-02-24_20260729_142449.jpg\"\/)
<\/a> ESCAPADE’s looping path to Mars. Credit: NASA\/JPL.<\/p>\n
![\"Osiris-REX's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot_2026-07-28_131807_20260729_142920.png\"\/)
<\/a> Osiris-REX’s view of Earth during the mission’s 2017 flyby. Credit: NASA\/JPL.<\/p>\n