Blue Origin Successfully Launches NASA's Mars Orbiter Mission
In a major breakthrough for private spaceflight, Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on Thursday, carrying twin NASA spacecraft destined for Mars. The 321-foot tall rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the afternoon, sending Nasa's Escapade and companion Mars orbiters on a long journey to the red planet.
After four days of delays due to inclement local weather and solar storms, the New Glenn finally lifted off, marking only its second flight. The rocket's booster was recovered after separation from the upper stage and Mars orbiters, a crucial step in recycling and reducing costs similar to SpaceX's approach.
Blue Origin's founder Jeff Bezos watched anxiously as the booster landed upright on a barge 375 miles offshore, where employees cheered wildly upon success. "Next stop, moon!" they chanted, marking the rocket's maiden voyage despite previous failed attempts at landing the booster on its floating platform in the Atlantic.
The twin Mars orbiters, named Escapade, will spend a year in space near Earth before undergoing a gravity assist from our planet to head towards Mars. They are scheduled to arrive in 2027 and will map the Martian upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic fields to better understand how these realms interact with the solar wind.
Scientists hope that this unprecedented stereo viewpoint will shed light on the processes behind the escaping Martian atmosphere, helping to explain how the planet went from wet and warm to dry and dusty. The observations will also study how to protect astronauts against Mars' harsh radiation environment.
This relatively low-budget mission, costing under $80 million, is managed by the University of California, Berkeley. Blue Origin plans to launch a prototype lunar lander on a demo mission soon, with the company already holding a Nasa contract for the third moon landing under the Artemis program.
In a major breakthrough for private spaceflight, Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on Thursday, carrying twin NASA spacecraft destined for Mars. The 321-foot tall rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the afternoon, sending Nasa's Escapade and companion Mars orbiters on a long journey to the red planet.
After four days of delays due to inclement local weather and solar storms, the New Glenn finally lifted off, marking only its second flight. The rocket's booster was recovered after separation from the upper stage and Mars orbiters, a crucial step in recycling and reducing costs similar to SpaceX's approach.
Blue Origin's founder Jeff Bezos watched anxiously as the booster landed upright on a barge 375 miles offshore, where employees cheered wildly upon success. "Next stop, moon!" they chanted, marking the rocket's maiden voyage despite previous failed attempts at landing the booster on its floating platform in the Atlantic.
The twin Mars orbiters, named Escapade, will spend a year in space near Earth before undergoing a gravity assist from our planet to head towards Mars. They are scheduled to arrive in 2027 and will map the Martian upper atmosphere and scattered magnetic fields to better understand how these realms interact with the solar wind.
Scientists hope that this unprecedented stereo viewpoint will shed light on the processes behind the escaping Martian atmosphere, helping to explain how the planet went from wet and warm to dry and dusty. The observations will also study how to protect astronauts against Mars' harsh radiation environment.
This relatively low-budget mission, costing under $80 million, is managed by the University of California, Berkeley. Blue Origin plans to launch a prototype lunar lander on a demo mission soon, with the company already holding a Nasa contract for the third moon landing under the Artemis program.
, but how reliable are these private space companies? like, what's the real cost of this mission? $80 million is pretty low, but I wonder if that's just a fraction of the total bill 
. and what about the tech itself? is it really reusable like SpaceX claims? we don't see enough info on the New Glenn rocket's performance... still, congrats to Blue Origin for getting this far 
, now let's see how they handle the complexities of space travel without NASA's resources 
! Like seriously though, a private spaceflight successfully launching NASA's Mars orbiter mission is HUGE 
! It shows that private companies can actually get things done and make space exploration more accessible 
. I mean Blue Origin is making waves (pun intended) with their New Glenn rocket, it's so cool to see a new player in the game 
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, it shows that they're thinking about sustainability and reducing costs which is a good thing for space travel 
. And can we talk about how awesome it'll be to have more data on Mars' upper atmosphere and magnetic fields? It's gonna be so interesting to learn more about the Martian environment 
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. The fact that it was under $80 million is pretty cool too, maybe private companies can make space travel more affordable 
.
, and now we're spending millions on a bunch of robots just gonna orbit around mars? 80 mil is cute, but what about the actual cost of sending humans there? don't they remember the last time space travel went 'private'? 
So they actually did it! I mean, four days of delays and solar storms and all that... but Blue Origin just pulled off this huge accomplishment 
. And the fact that they're going to study Martian upper atmosphere and magnetic fields? That's some crazy science stuff right there 
. Plus, they've got a lunar lander in the works... it's like the whole space industry is heating up 
! I'm curious to see how this new mission will help us prepare for Mars 
.
But yeah Jeff Bezos is a genius or what? I mean, I know he's rich and all but still lol. Anyway, the fact that Blue Origin recovered the booster like that is so cool! Like, that's some major tech right there 
. And now we get to learn more about Mars and its atmosphere 
about this 
. $80 million may seem like a lot, but considering the scale of the mission and what we can learn from it, it's actually pretty reasonable 
also, let's give it up for Jeff Bezos - he's been working on this for years, and to see his vision take off (pun intended 
) is just incredible. And I love that Blue Origin is already thinking about the next step: moon landings! 
can't wait to see what they come up with 
remember when nasa was like the only game in town? anyway, this blue origin thing is pretty cool i guess its good that theyre trying to make space travel more affordable, maybe one day we can have a moon base 
. They recovered the booster after separating from the upper stage, which is a huge step in recycling and reducing costs 
. The budget for this mission was like $80m which is super low compared to other space missions 
. They'll study the Martian upper atmosphere and magnetic fields to better understand how they interact with the solar wind 
.
It's all about collaboration and pushing boundaries, right?! 
. Can't wait to see the pics from those orbiters when they finally arrive on Mars in 2027 
!
