Blue Origin Successfully Launches Twin NASA Spacecraft on Journey to Mars
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, the New Glenn, blasted off from Cape Canaveral space force station with two NASA twin spacecraft, known as Escapade, destined for a year-long journey to Mars. The rocket's maiden test flight was delayed by four days due to unfavorable weather conditions and solar storms.
In a historic first, Blue Origin successfully recovered its booster after separation from the upper stage and Mars orbiters, marking an essential step towards recycling and reducing costs like SpaceX does with its rockets. Employees cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on a barge 600 miles offshore, while Bezos watched anxiously from launch control.
The twin spacecraft will spend a year orbiting Earth at a distance of approximately 1 million miles before embarking on a gravity assist maneuver next fall to head towards Mars. The duo is expected to arrive in 2027 and will map the planet's upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic fields, studying how these realms interact with the solar wind.
Scientists hope that this mission will shed light on the processes behind Mars' escaping atmosphere and how to protect astronauts against its harsh radiation environment. "We really, really want to understand the interaction of the solar wind with Mars better than we do now," said Rob Lillis, lead scientist on Escapade.
The relatively low-budget mission, costing under $80 million, is managed by the University of California, Berkeley, and marks a significant milestone for Blue Origin. The company plans to launch a prototype lunar lander, called Blue Moon, in the coming months onboard the New Glenn. With its sights set on the moon, Bezos' Blue Origin has secured a contract with NASA for the third moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program.
However, SpaceX remains ahead of Blue Origin in terms of progress, having been awarded the first and second crew landings. But following concerns over the pace of development, NASA reopened the Artemis contract last month, providing an opportunity for Blue Origin to accelerate its plans for a crewed moon landing.
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket, the New Glenn, blasted off from Cape Canaveral space force station with two NASA twin spacecraft, known as Escapade, destined for a year-long journey to Mars. The rocket's maiden test flight was delayed by four days due to unfavorable weather conditions and solar storms.
In a historic first, Blue Origin successfully recovered its booster after separation from the upper stage and Mars orbiters, marking an essential step towards recycling and reducing costs like SpaceX does with its rockets. Employees cheered wildly as the booster landed upright on a barge 600 miles offshore, while Bezos watched anxiously from launch control.
The twin spacecraft will spend a year orbiting Earth at a distance of approximately 1 million miles before embarking on a gravity assist maneuver next fall to head towards Mars. The duo is expected to arrive in 2027 and will map the planet's upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic fields, studying how these realms interact with the solar wind.
Scientists hope that this mission will shed light on the processes behind Mars' escaping atmosphere and how to protect astronauts against its harsh radiation environment. "We really, really want to understand the interaction of the solar wind with Mars better than we do now," said Rob Lillis, lead scientist on Escapade.
The relatively low-budget mission, costing under $80 million, is managed by the University of California, Berkeley, and marks a significant milestone for Blue Origin. The company plans to launch a prototype lunar lander, called Blue Moon, in the coming months onboard the New Glenn. With its sights set on the moon, Bezos' Blue Origin has secured a contract with NASA for the third moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program.
However, SpaceX remains ahead of Blue Origin in terms of progress, having been awarded the first and second crew landings. But following concerns over the pace of development, NASA reopened the Artemis contract last month, providing an opportunity for Blue Origin to accelerate its plans for a crewed moon landing.
just saw this news and im so hyped!!! bezos is one step closer to making humans a multi-planetary species 
and that blue origin rocket is like woah 
can u believe it recovered the booster after separation? that's like, crazy tech right there 
and the fact that they're going to study mars' upper atmosphere and magnetic fields is like whoa science goals 
80 million dollars is basically chump change for a mission of this magnitude 
i'm rooting for blue origin all the way now 
... what if this is just the beginning of something big? 
I'm literally shaking with excitement thinking about those twin spacecraft heading towards Mars! 1 million miles away from us and they'll be mapping the upper atmosphere like it's their backyard 
but you know what's even more amazing? Blue Origin recovering its booster, that's some serious tech bro stuff 
I mean who needs to be able to afford a new rocket when you can just salvage the old one? Anyway, this mission is all about solving the mystery of Mars' escaping atmosphere and it's gonna be so cool to see what they discover 
. Still can't believe how far SpaceX and Blue Origin have come... I guess you could say they're really 'launching' themselves into the big leagues now
. It's crazy to think that we'll be learning so much about the planet's upper atmosphere and magnetic fields in just a year or so. And who knows, maybe this mission will even help us figure out some ways to protect astronauts from all that harsh radiation 
.
. Bring on the lunar lander prototype and let's see what else Bezos' company has up their sleeve!
But hey, at least Blue Origin can recover its boosters after launch, which is pretty cool tech 
. Still, I'm curious to see how this mission will play out and what kind of insights we'll get from it. Will be interesting to follow along and see if SpaceX stays ahead in the space race 
. I mean, who wouldn't want to see reusable rockets become a thing? That kind of tech could save a fortune for future space missions 
. And hey, $80 million might not seem like a lot, but it's still a significant investment for something that could lead to major breakthroughs 
from the store and it's totally sold out apparently can't live without my morning cereal 
anyway, did you know that blue origin is now working on a lunar lander too? sounds like they're making some big moves to catch up with spacex