NASA’s two ESCAPADE spacecraft are preparing to fly past Earth and fire their engines in November, using a combination of gravity and propulsion to set course for Mars, the agency said on 2 November.

NASA’s plan calls for the first spacecraft to make its powered flyby around 5 a.m. US Eastern Standard Time on 7 November, and the second around 6 a.m. on 9 November. Each is expected to fire its engine for about nine minutes near its closest approach. The timings are planned and can change.

The spacecraft launched in November 2025 and travelled in an Earth-proximity orbit around the Sun–Earth L2 region before returning for the manoeuvres. At Mars, the mission is designed to study how the solar wind interacts with the planet’s magnetic environment and atmosphere using measurements from two locations.

NASA says it will be the first time its spacecraft perform this particular powered Earth-flyby manoeuvre. Readers can follow the agency for mission updates as the dates approach.

Source: NASA ESCAPADE mission blog, 2 November 2026 — https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/escapade/2026/11/02/nasas-twin-escapade-spacecraft-to-slingshot-past-earth-on-way-to-mars/

Image: The twin ESCAPADE spacecraft being prepared in 2024. NASA/Kim Shiflett, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain; resized from the original. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ESCAPADE_Unboxed_at_Astrotech_(KSC-20240822-PH-KLS01_0033).jpg