This first-of-its-kind unmanned mission - Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE - could launch as early as this Sunday, sending twin satellites to Mars that together will offer the clearest picture yet of the shifting Martian atmosphere and magnetic field. If it succeeds, it could reveal mysteries about how Mars became the red wasteland that we see today, and may help us send humans to safely explore our planetary neighbor. It also pioneers a new path to Mars and a cheaper - if riskier - model for space exploration.
"Even if he was standing there holding the chain in his hands, the strongest weightlifter would not be able to prevent this kind of an accident from happening," said Kanal, director of Magnetic Resonance Service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.