NASA's Rocket Lab-Built ESCAPADE Satellites Begin Journey to Mars

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Rocket Lab Corporation, a global leader in launch services and space systems, announced that the two spacecraft it designed and built for NASA and the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory have completed their trans-Mars injection (TMI) burns. The twin spacecraft, named Blue and Gold, will study Mars' magnetosphere for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission.

Once at Mars, Blue and Gold will work in tandem to measure how the solar wind strips ions from the planet's upper atmosphere. The data will help scientists reconstruct Mars' atmospheric escape history, characterize its space weather environment, and inform planning for future human exploration.

Blue and Gold each performed a TMI burn during a powered Earth gravity assist. The burns took place two days apart on Nov. 7 and Nov. 9, with each spacecraft swinging past Earth and firing a single, continuous burn for approximately 10 minutes. The spacecraft executed the maneuvers autonomously, with Rocket Lab and UC Berkeley operators overseeing both burns.

Rather than relying on a launch vehicle's upper stage to send them toward Mars, Blue and Gold performed their own departure burns, a capability that required a powerful onboard propulsion system and precise trajectory planning. The TMI is one of the mission's two largest propulsive maneuvers, alongside Mars orbit insertion, and it could not be split into smaller segments. Each spacecraft had to sustain a precisely controlled engine firing.

Completing that burn successfully on both Blue and Gold marks one of the most demanding tests of the Explorer-class platform, and a key milestone on the path to Mars orbit insertion. The burns were executed with much greater than 99% overall accuracy with a final attitude error of less than 1 degree.

“A phenomenal amount of work goes into a successful trans-Mars injection burn, from considered spacecraft design and precision trajectory planning to meticulous on-orbit operations. Performing these TMI maneuvers flawlessly is a testament to the relentless execution of the Rocket Lab team and the ongoing close collaboration of our mission partners at UC Berkeley and NASA. Next stop, Mars,” said Sir Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab.

ESCAPADE launched on Nov. 13, 2025, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Because Earth and Mars were not aligned for a direct transfer, Blue and Gold first entered a loiter orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). The orbit was timed to bring them back to Earth for the gravity assist that has now sent them toward Mars.

During the nearly yearlong loiter phase, Rocket Lab and UC Berkeley operators completed commissioning, and each vehicle performed multiple trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) using its main engine. These burns kept the spacecraft on their path through Earth's magnetotail, giving the science team an early opportunity to operate its instruments.

Additional interplanetary correction maneuvers (ICMs) during cruise will refine each spacecraft's path toward Mars. Blue and Gold are scheduled to perform Mars orbit insertion, the mission's other major burn, in September 2027 and will begin transitioning to their first science formation in 2028.

ESCAPADE is the latest in a growing line of deep-space missions supported by Rocket Lab, including NASA's CAPSTONE lunar mission. It also extends the Company's Mars heritage, which includes Perseverance's robotic arm and Mastcam-Z opto-mechanics and the solar power behind Ingenuity, InSight, and the Mars 2020 cruise stage.

The Company delivered both ESCAPADE spacecraft three and a half years after the contract award. That pace was made possible by building critical hardware and software in-house, from solar arrays, propellant tanks, and reaction wheels to star trackers, radios, avionics, and flight software, an approach that reduces cost and schedule risk for customers.