Blue Origin's New Glenn Successfully Launches NASA's ESCAPADE Mission to Mars
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket successfully launched NASA's ESCAPADE mission to Mars, marking a significant milestone with its first customer payload and a successful booster landing.
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket successfully launched NASA's ESCAPADE mission to Mars on Thursday, November 13, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This mission marks the rocket's first flight carrying a customer payload and its first successful booster landing.
The 321-foot-tall New Glenn lifted off at 3:55 p.m. ET, carrying twin satellites designed to study Mars' atmosphere and magnetic fields. The launch had been delayed due to adverse weather and solar storms earlier in the week.
Following the launch, the rocket's first-stage booster executed a successful landing on the autonomous ship Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean, a significant achievement in Blue Origin's efforts to develop reusable rocket technology.
The ESCAPADE mission, managed by the University of California, Berkeley, aims to investigate how solar wind contributes to atmospheric loss on Mars. The twin satellites will spend a year near Earth before heading to Mars in 2027 to conduct their studies.
This launch represents a pivotal step for Blue Origin as it seeks to establish itself as a competitor in the commercial space industry, particularly against companies like SpaceX.