NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars — twin UC Berkeley satellites dubbed Blue and Gold — will launch in early November

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By Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley News. 

Excerpt: UPDATE 11/13/25: After two launch delays because of weather and a solar storm, New Glenn launched from Cape Canaveral at 3:55 p.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 13. The twin satellites successfully separated from the rocket about 33 minutes after launch, and the rocket booster made a pinpoint landing on an ocean barge about 375 miles offshore — a first for New Glenn. For more updates, check NASA’s ESCAPADE blog. ...Takeaways: (1) NASA’s ESCAPADE is the first UC Berkeley-led planetary mission. Its two identical satellites will provide an unprecedented stereo view of Mars’ magnetosphere; (2) Mapping the ionosphere and space environment are key to understanding Mars’ evolution and safeguarding astronaut communication and survival on the planet; (3) ESCAPADE will pioneer a new trajectory to Mars that will be needed for future human settlement when we send fleets of spacecraft to the planet.... 


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