Blue Origin has officially announced that NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars mission will be launched aboard the company’s New Glenn rocket during its second-ever flight. This crucial mission, scheduled for the last quarter of 2025, will include two spacecraft designed to explore Mars’ magnetic environment, along with an additional technology demonstration payload linked to NASA’s Communications Services Project.

Second Flight Marks Major Step for New Glenn

New Glenn, Blue Origin’s flagship orbital rocket, will perform its second flight, designated NG-2, by carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE mission into space. Though an exact date is yet to be confirmed, the launch window has been firmly set for late 2025. Alongside ESCAPADE’s scientific objectives, the flight will also host a technology payload developed by Viasat, intended to support NASA’s Communications Services Project.

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“New Glenn’s second mission, NG-2, will send @NASA’s ESCAPADE to Mars. This launch will support ESCAPADE’s science objectives as the twin spacecraft progress on their journey to the Red Planet,” Blue Origin announced in a statement on X.

Pioneering Multi-Spacecraft Mars Mission

The ESCAPADE mission represents a notable advancement in Mars exploration, marking the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission dedicated to examining the Martian magnetosphere. Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, expressed his enthusiasm for the mission and highlighted its historical significance.

“This will be an exciting mission for New Glenn and Mars exploration. ESCAPADE is not only New Glenn’s first interplanetary mission, it’s also the first multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to study the Martian magnetosphere,” Limp posted on X. He also indicated Blue Origin’s ambitious goal to land and recover the New Glenn rocket’s first-stage booster, adding, “Mars, here we come. Thank you to NASA for riding with us to space.”

Investigating Mars’ Vanishing Atmosphere

NASA’s ESCAPADE, short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, consists of two orbiters weighing 524 kilograms each. These orbiters have been developed in collaboration among NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of California, Berkeley. Their primary mission is to study Mars’ magnetic field and understand how solar wind and particle flows influence the planet’s atmosphere.

Over the mission’s 11-month operational lifespan, the twin spacecraft will examine how Mars lost its atmosphere, which could offer valuable insights into why the planet, once similar to Earth, evolved so differently. Scientists expect the data collected will significantly enhance understanding of atmospheric loss processes affecting planetary habitability.