The New Glenn Launch to Mars Scheduled for Tomorrow

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rending of the two EscaPADE probems approaching Mars. (NASA)

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is scheduled to be launched tomorrow afternoon with two Martian probes on board. A lot is riding on tomorrow’s launch. The mission is important for Blue Origin, as it tests its new rocket with its first real mission. It is also important to NASA, which is using the probes to better understand the Martian atmosphere.

Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket will put it in direct competition with SpaceX for future NASA missions. This redundancy is needed, particularly with SpaceX seeming to struggle with its projects related to the Atemis lunar mission.

The $100 million Martian mission, called Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE), involves a pair of identical spacecraft with a the goal of analyzing:

  1. how Mars’ magnetic field guides particle flows around the planet,
  2. how energy and momentum are transported from the solar wind through the magnetosphere, and
  3. what processes control the flow of energy and matter into and out of the Martian atmosphere.

The two probes will be launched towards Lagrange Point 2, where they will sit for more than a year before making an approach towards Mars. The probes are expected to go into orbit around Mars in September 2027.

Godspeed to Blue Origin and NASA.

Update: The launch has been delayed due to bad weather. The next attempt will be on November 12th.

Highlights from the 2025 International Mars Society Convention

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Sci-fi panel discussion at the International Mars Society Convention. (Mars Society)

If you were unable to attend the 2025 International Mars Society Convention earlier this month in California, you can still get a taste of the event. The Mars Society has posted a one-hour video with highlights from the various presentations listed below:

  • Dr. Robert Zubrin, Mars Society Founder & President – An abbreviated version of his stirring Day 1 keynote talk, setting the tone for humanity’s journey to Mars.
  • Conference Introduction – An overview of the weekend’s groundbreaking discussions, from science and technology to policy and advocacy.
  • Hoppy Price (NASA JPL) – Concepts for Future Robotic Mars Exploration Missions, including an engaging Q&A on Mars Sample Return and next-generation rover systems.
  • David Malott, Founder & CEO, SpaceFactory.AI – Inside the award-winning Mars habitat design and its real-world implications for sustainable living beyond Earth.
  • Dr. Erika DeBenedictis, Pioneer Labs – A Path to Green Mars, exploring how synthetic biology and systems thinking can transform the Red Planet into a thriving, self-sustaining ecosystem.
  • Dr. Vicky Hamilton, MEPAG Chair – The Future of Mars Exploration, connecting today’s missions to tomorrow’s scientific frontiers.
  • Dr. Abigail Fraeman, Deputy Project Scientist, NASA’s Curiosity Rover – Mars Through the Eyes of Curiosity: 13 Years of Adventure, reflecting on discoveries from Gale Crater and what’s next.

It certainly isn’t the same as being there, but it gives you some background on what was discussed. You can also view the program guide for the convention at this link.

And should you want to hear more, try this video from another conference that Dr. Robert Zubrin recently attended -the 2025 New Worlds Conference in Austin. Dr. Zubrin spoke about the drive to explore and settle space.

Space Stories: Earth’s Second Moon, Organic Molecules on Enceladus, and Mysterious Gullies on Mars

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Earth as observed by the Apollo 11 spacecraft. (NASA/JSC)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—The Economic Times: “NASA Confirms Earth Has a Second Moon, And It Will Stay With Us Until 2083“

Earth has received a new cosmic partner, a small asteroid designated as 2025 PN7. NASA confirmed this week that the object, initially found by the University of Hawaii, qualifies as a “quasi-moon” , an uncommon type of celestial body that moves almost similarly in sync with Earth. While not a real moon, it has a similar orbit surrounding the Sun, seeming to shadow our planet as it travels through space. Researchers estimate the asteroid measures 18 to 36 meters wide, approximately the height of a small building, making it small by cosmic standards but noteworthy for Earth’s extended neighborhood.

—Sky&Telescope: “New Study Identifies Organic Molecules Spewing from Saturn’s Icy Moon Enceladus“

Twenty years after the Cassini spacecraft discovered an ocean under the icy surface of Saturn’s moon Enceladus, a new study of previously collected data hints at a much better chance for habitability. The change comes from recording how a plume of ice grains hit Cassini just minutes after it erupted from the moon. The close encounter exposed organic compounds not previously seen on Enceladus.

—Utrecht University: “Mysterious Gullies on Mars Appear to Have Been Dug, But by Whom or What?“

Did life really exist on Mars after all? Unfortunately, there is no conclusive evidence for this yet. Nevertheless, it would seem that some form of life was the driving force behind the mysterious Martian dune gullies. Earth scientist Dr Lonneke Roelofs from Utrecht University has investigated how these gullies were formed. In a test setup, she observed that blocks of CO2 ice ‘dug’ these gullies in a unique way. “It felt like I was watching the sandworms in the film Dune.”

NASA Cuts Endanger Mars Rover Missions

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Selfie by NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover taken on September 10, 2021. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

First the White House dropped the idea of retrieving soil samples from Mars. Now it is going after the rover collecting those samples.

This week NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which manages the rovers on Mars, announced the layoff of 550 workers, stating:

In order to best position JPL going forward, we are taking steps to restructure and establish an appropriate size to ensure future success. As part of this effort, JPL is undergoing a realignment of its workforce, including a reduction in staff. This reduction — part of a reorganization that began in July and not related to the current government shutdown — will affect approximately 550 of our colleagues across technical, business, and support areas.

One of the employees at JPL who formerly operated rovers noted that the White House cuts is reducing the funding for the Perseverance Mars rover, which collected the soil samples, by two-thirds. He was quoted as saying that they cuts are “…just enough to technically keep it going and not get the full PR backlash of canceling a working rover.”

We only have two rovers left on Mars, the Perseverance rover and the Curiosity rover. Are we going to see these rovers go dark in the near future as they continue to look for life on the planet? And what does it say that we are hoping to put humans on Mars when we cannot even find a way to properly fund the robots that are already there? Would you be your life on this government?

None of this give the US public any confidence, nor does it give bright students much hope for a NASA career when the roles they want to fill are being eliminated.

We are treading water nowadays rather than reaching for the stars. It will have repercussions that may be long-lasting.

Upcoming Conference: Space Settlement Summit

Posted on by onespaceman2000

If you are interested in seeing humanity spread into space, you might want to attend the upcoming Space Settlement Summit hosted by the National Space Society (NSS) and scheduled for November 3 and 4 in Orlando, Florida.

The federal government may be backing out of conferences, and science in general, but that need not stop you from learning more. Do you want to know more about the difficulties of settling on Mars, the role of robotics and AI in space travel, or some of the approaches being pursued by the big space industry players?

Some of the sessions already posted on the schedule for the first day are shown below:

You should also check out the range of presenters from industry, academia, and the non-profit center. It will take superior hardware, software, and brain power to eventually settle on Mars and elsewhere. You can be part of the discussion now.

The Early Bird prices end this coming Friday, so you need to make up your mind soon.

Credit: NSS