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New Glenn Set for Nov. 9 Launch Carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars Mission

The flight serves as a pivotal demonstration for Blue Origin with potential implications for upcoming NASA contract decisions.

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket lifts off on January 16 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Twin Mars orbiters for NASA's EscaPADE mission are secured within the nose cone of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on October 31 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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NASA's Escapade mission, run by UC Berkeley, will get to the bottom of how solar radiation strips away the tattered Martian atmosphere.

Overview

  • Liftoff from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 is targeted for Sunday within a 2:45–5:11 p.m. ET window.
  • ESCAPADE comprises twin probes, Blue and Gold, built by Rocket Lab and operated by UC Berkeley to study Mars’ space environment.
  • After insertion toward the Earth–Sun L2 point for roughly 12 months of space‑weather observations, the probes will use an Earth flyby in November 2026 to reach Mars around March 2027.
  • Once at Mars, the spacecraft will fly in formation to deliver the first stereo 3D mapping of the planet’s magnetic fields, ionosphere, and upper atmosphere to investigate atmospheric loss.
  • The launch is New Glenn’s second flight, with Blue Origin planning a first‑stage sea recovery, and mission analysts say success hinges on placing ESCAPADE on the correct trajectory.