CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin successfully launched its powerful New Glenn rocket on Thursday, carrying two NASA spacecraft headed for Mars. This marked only the second flight for New Glenn, which is expected to help deliver people and supplies to the Moon in the future.
The 321-foot rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after a four-day delay due to bad weather and solar storms that created vivid auroras in Florida. What was especially exciting was that Blue Origin managed to recover the booster after it split from the upper stage and the spacecraft. It landed perfectly on a barge 375 miles offshore, much to the delight of the team and Jeff Bezos, who watched from Launch Control.
“Next stop, Moon!” employees cheered after the successful landing. The mission’s primary goal was achieved twenty minutes later when the upper stage deployed the two Mars orbiters.
In its first test flight back in January, New Glenn successfully reached orbit but failed to land the booster. This time, the mission went smoothly, offering hope for future space endeavors. The twin orbiters, named Escapade, will hover near Earth for a year before heading to Mars when the planets align in fall 2024. They’ll rely on Earth’s gravity to reach the red planet, arriving by 2027.
Once in orbit around Mars, Escapade will investigate the planet’s upper atmosphere and its magnetic field, studying their interaction with solar wind. This research aims to uncover why Mars transformed from a warm, wet world into its current dry state. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for planning future human missions to protect astronauts from Mars’ harsh conditions.
Rob Lillis, Escapade’s lead scientist from UC Berkeley, emphasized the mission’s unique perspective. “We will have two spacecraft at the same time, offering an unprecedented stereo viewpoint of Mars,” he said.
This mission comes at a relatively low cost of under $80 million, largely because NASA opted to launch during one of New Glenn’s early flights. Initially, the launch was set for last fall, but the team delayed to ensure the rocket’s readiness.
New Glenn, named after astronaut John Glenn, is significantly larger than Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, which has been ferrying private tourists to the edge of space. Blue Origin also has plans to launch the prototype of its Blue Moon lunar lander soon.
Founded by Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin has secured a NASA contract to participate in the Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon. While SpaceX has taken the lead with its Starship for earlier missions, NASA recently reopened the contract for initial lunar crew landings, expressing concerns over Starship’s testing pace.
NASA aims to send astronauts around the Moon early next year with its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The agency is determined to land on the lunar surface by the end of the decade to stay ahead of competing countries like China.
Historically, twelve astronauts walked on the Moon during the Apollo missions over fifty years ago. The current rush back to lunar exploration highlights how far we’ve come in technology and how vital it is for future space missions.
As Blue Origin and others race to explore the cosmos, public interest grows. Social media is buzzing with excitement over these advancements. It’s an inspiring time for space exploration, and the collective goal is to understand our universe better.
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