Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket launches NASA mission to Mars
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Next stop, not Mars: Why NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes are taking the long way to the Red Planet after Blue Origin launch
For the first time in more than five years, humanity has launched a mission to Mars — but it won't be arriving at the Red Planet anytime soon. NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes launched Thursday (Nov. 13) on the second-ever flight of Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket.
Blue Origin's heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, lifts off Thursday afternoon from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket, which is more than 320 feet tall, successfully deployed NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE.