New Glenn to launch NASA Mars mission this week

New Glenn to Launch NASA Mars Mission This Week

On November 9, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is scheduled for its second flight, carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE probes to Mars. This mission marks the first operational launch of the New Glenn rocket with a NASA science payload and follows its inaugural flight in January.

Mission Details

The launch will occur at Space Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, no earlier than Sunday, November 9. The primary payload, ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers), consists of two identical small satellites.

ESCAPADE Probes

The twin satellites, named “Blue” and “Gold,” were developed by Rocket Lab.
They are part of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program.
The probes will enter complementary orbits around Mars to investigate its magnetosphere.

Scientific Objectives

The mission aims to understand how solar wind interacts with Mars’ atmosphere, causing atmospheric escape that led to the loss of its ancient, watery climate. The dual-satellite setup will provide scientists with a real-time, three-dimensional perspective of this process.

“This dual-satellite view will give scientists a real-time, 3D picture of atmospheric escape, helping to solve the puzzle of how Mars lost its ancient, watery climate.”

Additional Launches This Week

Europe’s Sentinel-1D satellite.
United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) launch of the massive ViaSat-3 F2 satellite.
Several missions by SpaceX and China.

New Glenn Specifications

The New Glenn rocket stands 321 feet (98 meters) tall and recently passed a successful static fire test of its seven BE-4 engines in October.

Author’s summary: The upcoming New Glenn launch will carry NASA’s ESCAPADE twin probes to Mars, offering crucial insights into Martian atmospheric loss through a pioneering dual-satellite study.

Astronomy Magazine — 2025-11-04