NEW YORK, Sept. 6 (Xinhua) -- NASA said on Friday it has decided to delay the launch of a new science mission -- ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) -- to Mars.
The ESCAPADE mission will use two identical spacecraft to study how the solar wind interacts with Mars' magnetic environment, driving the planet's atmospheric escape.
The mission is previously scheduled to launch no earlier than Oct. 13, on Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA said the decision to delay the launch was made to avoid significant cost, schedule, and technical challenges associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay, which could be caused by a number of factors.
The alignment of Earth and Mars constrains ESCAPADE's windows of launch opportunities to the Red Planet. This means that small schedule changes can result in months-long delays in launch, according to NASA.
The mission team is analyzing larger planetary window opportunities. NASA and Blue Origin are discussing an additional opportunity to launch the spacecraft to Mars no earlier than spring 2025. ■