NASA’s two ESCAPADE spacecraft have completed powered Earth flybys and are now travelling toward Mars. The first performed its manoeuvre on November 7 and the second followed on November 9. Each combined Earth’s gravitational assistance with an engine burn to establish its onward trajectory.

The pair launched on November 13, 2025. Rather than flying directly to Mars, they first followed a holding route near the Earth–Sun system before returning to Earth for these departure manoeuvres.

Mars orbit insertion burns are planned for September 7 and 9, 2027. After arrival, the spacecraft are intended to investigate how the solar wind interacts with the Martian environment and contributes to atmospheric loss. Those observations are still ahead. The newly reported milestone concerns the journey to Mars, rather than scientific measurements already collected in orbit there.