Позначка: Mars

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Booster Recovery, Paving the Way for Mars Mission

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture achieved a significant milestone today with the successful recovery of its New Glenn rocket booster during the launch of the Escapade probes destined for Mars. This marked a crucial step in the company’s efforts to compete with SpaceX and represented the first-ever successful recovery of a New Glenn booster.

The launch, which occurred from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, followed several attempts due to cloudy weather and a solar storm. The mission’s primary goal is to deploy twin robotic spacecraft – the Escapade probes – to study Mars’ magnetic field, atmosphere, and ionosphere. The name ‘Escapade’ is an acronym for ‘ESCApe and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers’.

A key element of the mission involved recovering the New Glenn booster, nicknamed “Never Tell Me the Odds,” which successfully splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean. Blue Origin team members celebrated the achievement, including Jeff Bezos at Mission Control. The probes are equipped with sophisticated hardware for ViaSat’s HaloNet telemetry relay service, testing an alternative to NASA’s TDRS system.

The Escapade probes will follow a looping trajectory, including an Earth flyby in a year, with a planned arrival at Mars in 2027. Scientists, led by Robert Lillis at UC-Berkeley, believe the data gathered will be crucial for future crewed missions to Mars and for understanding the planet’s climate evolution, including the process of atmospheric escape.

Blue Origin plans to utilize the “Never Tell Me the Odds” booster again, launching an uncrewed Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the moon’s south polar region in the coming months.

NASA Announces New Class of Astronauts, Including Geologist with Space Research Experience

NASA has unveiled its latest cohort of astronauts, comprising ten individuals poised to play a crucial role in the agency’s ambitious space exploration endeavors. Among them is Lauren Edgar, a geologist from the Pacific Northwest, adding a unique expertise to the team. This marks the first time in NASA’s history that a female astronaut graduate has already journeyed into orbit, setting a new record.

The ‘Class of 2025’ was introduced at Johnson Space Center in Houston, with prominent figures in Congress and other VIPs in attendance. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy emphasized the rigorous selection process, noting the application of over 8,000 people, highlighting the agency’s commitment to recruiting the ‘best and brightest.’

Edgar, a 40-year-old native of Washington, D.C., who grew up in Sammamish, Wash., and graduated from Skyline High School, brings extensive experience in space research. She previously worked at the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA, leading the USGS’ TARGET training program and supporting missions like the Mars Science Laboratory and Mars Exploration Rover. Her career highlights include a stint as deputy principal investigator on the Artemis 3 Geology Team.

Other members of the new class include Ben Bailey, Adam Fuhrmann, Cameron Jones, Yuri Kubo, Rebecca Lawler, Anna Menon, Imelda Muller, Erin Overcash, and Katherine Spies. Each brings diverse backgrounds and expertise – from military aviation and test piloting to engineering and medical experience. These individuals will undergo extensive training in preparation for future missions, including the Artemis program’s planned trips to the moon and, ultimately, to Mars.

NASA has a rich history of astronaut recruitment, having selected the original Mercury Seven in 1959, with a total of 370 candidates chosen to date. The upcoming Artemis 2 mission, slated for launch next year, aims to send a crew of four astronauts around the moon, setting the stage for a subsequent mission to land on the lunar surface in 2027. Despite challenges and questions surrounding the timeline, NASA remains committed to its leadership in space exploration, asserting its determination to return to the moon and eventually, to Mars.