ESCAPADE mission studies Martian atmospheric loss

Fahad Redha

March 23, 2026
3 min read

ESCAPADE mission studies Martian atmospheric loss

NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers), which launched in November 2025, will investigate some of Mars’ secrets. The Red Planet is believed to have once had a warmer climate with a thick atmosphere and potentially flowing water, in stark contrast to the dry and freezing world it is today.

Solar wind is thought to be one of the biggest reasons for this, with the steady stream of charged particles from the sun eroding its atmosphere over billions of years. This cooled the planet, causing its surface water to disappear.

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To investigate this, the ESCAPADE mission activated its scientific instruments as of 25^th February 2026. These will help it study how the planet lost so much atmosphere and how the Sun continues to affect Mars today. It will also collect new information about space weather while it is travelling near Earth and on its journey to the Red Planet.

The data gathered could also help NASA better protect astronauts if a crewed mission to Mars is ever a possibility.

“The pioneering ESCAPADE duo will not only investigate the Sun’s role in transforming Mars into an uninhabitable planet, but also will help inform the development of space weather protocols for solar events directed at Mars during future human missions to the Red Planet,” said Joe Westlake, heliophysics division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By joining the heliophysics fleet of missions across the solar system, ESCAPADE will be another weather station making humans and technology in space safer and more successful.”

ESCAPADE is unique because it uses twin spacecraft working together in orbit around the planet. This allows NASA to observe its magnetic environment from two places at once. The pair will track any rapid changes in its magnetosphere, and hopefully help researchers identify the processes that caused its atmosphere to leak slowly into outer space.

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About Author

Fahad Redha

Fahad is the Content Editor at EyeOnLondon, overseeing the publication’s editorial output across news, culture, and lifestyle. With a background in journalism from the University of the Creative Arts, he brings a broad range of experience from local London reporting in Kensington & Chelsea, where he held roles including motoring, events, and health editor. At EyeOnLondon, Fahad plays a central role in shaping content and maintaining editorial standards. His work spans everything from daily news to feature coverage, with a particular strength in motoring and events. He also incorporates photography into his reporting, adding a visual layer to many of his stories. Fahad joined EyeOnLondon in February 2021.