The ESCAPE mission will study the evolution of exoplanet atmospheres

The ESCAPE mission, proposed by NASA, aims to study how extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) affect exoplanet atmospheres. The mission will use extreme- and far-ultraviolet spectroscopy to examine EUV and CMEs, focusing on how they drive atmospheric mass loss and determine the habitability of rocky exoplanets. The research is titled "ESCAPE: a small explorer mission to study the stellar drivers of exoplanet evolution." The lead author is Allison Youngblood, a research astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The mission will address key gaps in understanding atmospheric retention by measuring EUV irradiance and stellar EUV evolution.

• ESCAPE will observe 276 F-, G-, K- and M-dwarf stars for 12 kiloseconds (3 hours and 20 minutes) per star, gathering data on their ages and EUV and FUV luminosities as a function of age and mass. This will help answer questions about EUV irradiance and stellar EUV evolution.
• DEEP, another part of the mission, will monitor 24 F-, G-, K- and M-dwarfs for 1 megasecond (278 hours) each, measuring CME rates and EUV flaring frequencies to address questions about stellar coronal mass ejections.

The mission is designed to provide better-constrained models for exoplanet scientists, helping them understand how stars drive atmospheric mass loss and determine the habitability of rocky exoplanets. ESCAPE will address the factor of >10 differences in predicted atmospheric mass loss rates by directly measuring EUV irradiance and stellar EUV evolution. The mission will use its single instrument to perform two separate surveys: Stellar EUV Environments (SEEN) and the Dedicated EUV Eruption Program (DEEP). SEEN will focus on science questions 1 and 2, while DEEP will focus on science questions 2 and 3.

The ESCAPE mission is more evidence that exoplanet science is advancing, with a focus on understanding habitability rather than just detection. It will help scientists better understand how EUV and CMEs affect exoplanet atmospheres and determine the long-term stability of these atmospheres. The mission will also allow astronomers to study comets and the impact of solar EUV on them, potentially connecting interloping comets with their parent systems. ESCAPE will gather data on 300 FGKM stars, providing a far-reaching impact on our understanding of all planets and their atmospheres.

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