NASA is preparing the first dual-satellite expedition to another planet. The Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE), two identical spacecraft assigned to reach Mars, are currently slated to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, no earlier than Sunday (November 9).

The spacecraft will map the upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetic fields of our cosmic neighbour in three dimensions once they are in the orbit of the Red Planet.

The University of California, Berkeley, which is in charge of the ESCAPADE, gave the spacecraft’s onboard satellites the colours Blue and Gold. The spacecraft will be the first to use a new trajectory to reach Mars.

The Hohmann Transfer, a route that takes seven to eleven months, has been used in previous expeditions to Earth’s nearest plane

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