Historic Mars mission/ Jeff Bezos' 'New Glenn' rocket fails

Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital rocket, designed by Jeff Bezos to compete with SpaceX's Falcon rockets, is ready for its second launch, with the mission to send two twin NASA spacecraft on a long journey to Mars.

The 98-meter-long rocket was expected to launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida, but the liftoff was postponed due to adverse weather conditions. Blue Origin said it is evaluating the possibility of a new attempt on Monday, although the weather forecast remains uncertain.

The company also aims to recover and reuse the rocket's main thruster on a naval vessel to cut costs — a strategy similar to SpaceX's. On its first flight in January, the rocket successfully reached orbit, but the thruster failed to land due to a technical defect.

The current mission, called Escapade (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers), is a NASA science project led by the University of California, Berkeley, with support from Rocket Lab. The two satellites will first be launched into orbit and then headed towards Mars in 2026, arriving in orbit around the red planet in 2027.

Their goal is to study the Martian atmosphere and the impact of solar storms – essential knowledge for protecting astronauts on future human missions to the planet.