Blue Origin's New Glenn to Launch NASA Mars Mission on Nov. 9
Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket is set to launch a NASA Mars mission this Sunday, November 9. The liftoff of the ESCAPADE mission will take place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida during a 2.5-hour window starting at 2:45 p.m.
Mission Overview
ESCAPADE, short for "Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers," marks NASA's first Mars mission in over five years since the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter launched in July 2020. The mission includes two spacecraft, built by Rocket Lab, named Blue and Gold after the University of California, Berkeley's school colors, which will operate the probes for NASA.
Flight Path and Objectives
New Glenn will send Blue and Gold toward the Earth-sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2), a gravitationally stable spot approximately 930,000 miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth. The spacecraft will remain there for 12 months studying space weather. In November 2026, they will loop by Earth to gain a gravitational assist before continuing toward Mars, which they are expected to reach about 10 months later.
Watching the Launch
- The launch will be broadcast live by Blue Origin, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos.
- Space.com will also stream the feed if Blue Origin makes it available.
- This event will be only the second launch of the New Glenn rocket.
ESCAPADE stands for "Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers."
"Blue" and "Gold" are named after UC-Berkeley's school colors.
The probes will reach Mars about 10 months after receiving a gravitational boost during their Earth flyby in November 2026.
Author’s summary: Blue Origin’s New Glenn will launch the twin ESCAPADE Mars probes on Nov. 9, beginning a unique 3-year journey studying space weather and ultimately reaching Mars in late 2027.