ESCAPADE Captures Earth‑Moon Family Portrait

ESCAPADE Captures Earth‑Moon Family Portrait

On July 3, one of the two Mars‑bound ESCAPADE spacecraft took pictures of Earth and the Moon. The images were acquired in both visible and thermal infrared wavelengths.

At the moment of imaging, the spacecraft was roughly 363,250 miles (584,600 kilometers) from Earth and about 115,600 miles (186,100 kilometers) from the Moon. These distances made the Moon appear comparatively small beside Earth in the frame.

ESCAPADE stands for "Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers" and consists of twin satellites destined for Mars, where they will study how the solar wind interacts with the Martian atmosphere.

The recent photos primarily serve as an instrument checkout, confirming that both the visible and infrared cameras are functioning as intended. Additional scientific data will be gathered once the probes reach Mars.