Rocket Lab announced Aug. 23 that it will design and manufacture two Photon satellite bus spacecraft for its Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or Escapade, mission. The spacecraft will orbit Mars to research the structure, composition, variability and dynamics of the magnetic field surrounding the planet.
The mission will also help NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon by improving solar storm predictions.
Rocket Lab plans to deploy the Photon spacecraft from a commercial launch vehicle provided by NASA in 2024. The spacecraft will conduct an 11-month “interplanetary cruise,” then insert themselves into orbits around Mars to begin research.
The Photon spacecraft will incorporate satellite subsystems created by Rocket Lab, such as star trackers, reaction wheels, ranging transceivers for deep space navigation and in-space propulsion systems.
“Escapade is an innovative mission that demonstrates that advanced interplanetary science is now within reach for a fraction of traditional costs, and we’re proud to make it possible with Photon,” Rocket Lab founder and chief executive Peter Beck said in a statement.
The Escapade mission is led by principal investigator Robert Lillis at UC Berkeley and managed by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Heliophysics Division.
The mission is one of three in NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program, which aims to conduct space research using small satellites.
Escapade is one of several missions Rocket Lab has announced in recent weeks. The company released plans for its mission to the Moon to support the Artemis program on Aug. 6. And on Aug 10 it announced plans for three launches between August and September for a mission on behalf of Seattle-based satellite imaging company BlackSky Global.
Rocket Lab also recently scored several contracts for its upcoming rideshare mission in the fourth quarter of 2021.
