Background Document: NASA's ESCAPADE Mission to Mars ### Introduction NASA's ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission to Mars is a unique endeavor that has faced numerous challenges since its inception. The mission aims to uncover the reasons behind Mars' transformation from a planet with a thick atmosphere and flowing water to its current cold, dry, and almost airless state.
### The Mission and Its Objectives The ESCAPADE mission, led by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, and in partnership with Rocket Lab of Long Beach, California, seeks to provide valuable insights into the Martian atmosphere's disappearance (Lillis, 2023). According to Rob Lillis, the mission's principal investigator and a planetary scientist at the Berkeley laboratory, the mission could serve as a “trailblazer” for future NASA science missions, offering a more efficient and cost-effective approach (Lillis, 2023). ### History of the Mission The ESCAPADE mission has had a tumultuous journey, with NASA initially rejecting Dr. Lillis' proposal several years ago (New York Times, 2025). However, due to a federal government shutdown in 2018, the mission eventually received approval (New York Times ← →NASA's latest robotic mission to Mars, ESCAPADE, should perhaps have been named the Great Escape, given how many times it has eluded doom.Other related sources and context: Visit website
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