Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin have secured a NASA contract where it was selected for the EscaPADE mission that would have its up-and-coming New Glenn rocket venture towards Mars. This Mars mission for the New Glenn rocket would deliver probes to learn more about the Red Planet, with the experimental reusable rocket from Blue Origin fulfilling the travel towards it.
It is important to note that this would be the New Glenn's first flight, with it slated for more launches coming next year to show the world what it can do.
Blue Origin is Going to Mars with NASA's EscaPADE Mission
Imagine being an inexperienced rookie drafted into a major sporting league to test your skills. Now think of the New Glenn rocket from Blue Origin taking on its maiden flight with a NASA payload and heading to Mars. Ars Technica reported that the payloads for New Glenn's first flight will center on Mars probes, with the spacecraft set to deliver it to our neighboring planet.
It will soon bring two spacecraft that will be used to measure plasma and magnetic fields in the Red Planet's vicinity, and this will be under the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) mission.
Setting up the Blue Origin rocket, it was confirmed by Bradley Smith, NASA's director of launch services, that this would be New Glenn's first flight.
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Meet New Glenn: Blue Origin's Reusable, Affordable Rocket
Blue Origin's New Glenn is a reusable rocket, and it also boasts of its capabilities to undertake payload missions that will usher in a new era for the space industry.
NASA's EscaPADE mission has a budget of $79 million, and it is relatively low compared to others, which is why it is pushing through with the New Glenn despite the high risks of the untested rocket.
Blue Origin is Building Its Stakes in the Space Industry
Earlier this February, NASA chose Blue Origin for the EscaPADE mission and named the New Glenn rocket to be its workhorse for the upcoming low-cost mission. This is set to be a Mars scientific mission that will have no passengers, but it will deliver a payload to the neighboring planet, with this being Blue Origin's first major government contract in its run.
It is also known that Blue Origin has been trying to build its name as a commercial space company that undertakes contracts from various agencies, companies, or organizations that aim to fly to the cosmos. There is also another contract that Bezos' space company wants to secure, and this is the Moon Lander spacecraft for the Artemis mission, where it went against Northrop Grumman and more.
While Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos' efforts towards expanding more of the space experience are still in their early stages, it already looks into the bigger picture, centering on government contracts for its rockets. EscaPADE centers on low-cost space ventures with the experimental New Glenn is set to undertake, soon showing the world of Blue Origin's capabilities with its first flight straight to Mars.
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