{"id":135298,"date":"2025-11-14T21:26:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/135298\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T21:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T21:26:10","slug":"rocket-lab-spacecraft-on-their-way-to-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/135298\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket Lab spacecraft on their way to Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"

READ MORE: Rocket Lab earnings – Neutron delayed, Beck mulls building a constellation to compete with Starlink<\/a><\/p>\n

A Blue Origin New Glenn N2 launch, carrying twin Rocket Lab spacecraft, blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida on its second attempt on Friday NZT after a weather-delay earlier in the week.<\/p>\n

The Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin also managed to land the first stage of the New Glenn rocket on an ocean platform named Jacklyn after the Amazon founder\u2019s late mother.<\/p>\n

Good overview of the landing. We nominally target a few hundred feet away from Jacklyn to avoid a severe impact if engines fail to start or start slowly. We\u2019ll incrementally reduce that conservatism over time. We are all excited and grateful for yesterday. Amazing performance by\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/DCEMsuSyPm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Onboard were two identical Rocket Lab-designed and built spacecraft, named Blue and Gold (each around 550kg), which will ferry satellites to Mars, then control them as they orbit the Red Planet, studying how solar wind interacts with Mars\u2019 magnetic environment in a bid to learn how its atmosphere \u2013 which once supported water \u2013 was stripped away.<\/p>\n

The twin satellites, managed by the University of California, Berkeley, will reach Mars in September 2027.<\/p>\n

Blue and Gold\u2019s various Rocket Lab systems showcase the Kiwi-American firm\u2019s reach, following the acquisition of multiple space companies. <\/p>\n

They include reaction control systems developed in Auckland (for keeping the satellites in the correct orientation), propulsion tanks and satellite radios made in Long Beach, California, star trackers developed in Toronto and solar panels made in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

Technical issues on Blue Origin\u2019s side meant a postponement of the original launch date \u2013 scheduled for the time when Earth and Mars are in alignment for the shortest journey, which only happens once every 26 months.<\/p>\n

It now means the twin spacecraft will now take a long way around.<\/p>\n

After takeoff, the twin spacecraft will soar into deep space. But rather than turning toward Mars, the two orbiters will instead aim for Lagrange Point 2, or L2 \u2014 a cosmic balance point about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where they will sit in a \u201cloitering orbit\u201d for 12 months before proceeding to Mars.<\/p>\n

Nasa says the entire Escapade mission will be executed for under US$100 million ($178m) under the US space agency\u2019s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (\u201cSIMPLEx\u201d) programme to develop low-cost missions.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s launch will also see Blue Origin attempt to land the New Glenn rocket\u2019s first stage on a floating platform \u2014 a barge at sea named Jacklyn after Bezos\u2019 late mother.<\/p>\n

All going well, Rocket Lab will one day have its hardware on the surface of the Red Planet, too.<\/p>\n

In October last year, the firm revealed it was one of the contenders selected by Nasa to complete a study into retrieving rock samples from the surface of Mars (already collected by various rover missions) and returning them to Earth \u2013 something never done before.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a modest contract, with huge potential, according to the firm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe study contract is US$625,000 [$1.02m]. The opportunity should the study concepts be progressed is in the billions,\u201d Rocket Lab marketing and communications vice-president Morgan Connaughton told the Herald.<\/p>\n

Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald\u2019s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.<\/p>\n