Blue commercial rocket company Blue Origin is set for a second launch of the New Glenn rocket on September 29, carrying twin NASA Mars exploration probes to our online platform.
The second launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is scheduled for no earlier than September 29, 2025. This launch will carry the twin NASA ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) probes destined for Mars.
The ESCAPADE mission, valued at $80 million, is the first interplanetary mission for the New Glenn rocket. It aims to study the dynamics of Mars' magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind. The mission involves two probes designed to explore how Mars loses atmospheric particles to space by observing the acceleration and escape of plasma from the Martian atmosphere. This will help scientists better understand atmospheric loss processes on Mars, which are crucial for studying the planet's climate history and habitability.
The twin NASA satellites for the ESCAPADE mission were built by California-based Rocket Lab, while the University of California's Space Sciences Laboratory will manage the operation of the twin satellites for the mission. The University of California's Space Sciences Laboratory is also the agency responsible for managing the ESCAPADE mission.
The New Glenn rocket will carry the ESCAPADE mission to Mars as part of the NG-2 launch, which also includes a secondary payload. NASA's Communications Services Project partners with the commercial sector to advance developments concerning in-orbit networking for near-Earth satellites, and Viasat's technology demonstration will be flown as part of the NG-2 launch in support of this project.
Blue Origin is preparing for the second launch of the New Glenn rocket, following its successful first test launch in the beginning of 2025. However, the first launch's first stage failed to land on a drone ship. For the NG-2 launch, Blue Origin will attempt to land and recover New Glenn's first stage booster on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch of New Glenn's mission will take place at Space Launch Complex-36, located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida. As of now, there are no changes in the scheduled launch date for the ESCAPADE mission.
[1] NASA. (2025). ESCAPADE Mission to Mars. [online] Available at: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ESCAPADE/main/index.html
[2] Blue Origin. (2025). New Glenn. [online] Available at: https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn
[3] Rocket Lab. (2025). ESCAPADE. [online] Available at: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/escapade
[4] Viasat. (2025). Viasat to Demonstrate Space-Based In-Orbit Networking Technology on NASA's New Glenn Launch. [online] Available at: https://www.viasat.com/company/news/press-releases/viasat-to-demonstrate-space-based-in-orbit-networking-technology-on-nasas-new-glenn-launch/
- The ESCAPADE mission, a collaboration between NASA, Rocket Lab, and the University of California's Space Sciences Laboratory, leverages technology from California-based Rocket Lab and Viasat's in-orbit networking technology to study Mars' magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind.
- The successful launch of the New Glenn rocket, Blue Origin's project, will not only carry the twin NASA ESCAPADE probes to Mars but also serve as a test platform for Viasat's technology demonstration aimed at advancing in-orbit networking for near-Earth satellites.
- As the first interplanetary mission for the New Glenn rocket, the ESCAPADE mission falls under the purview of the University of California's Space Sciences Laboratory, and it aims to provide crucial insights into atmospheric loss processes on Mars by observing plasma dynamics, a field belonging to the realm of space-and-astronomy science and technology.
