NASA, Blue Origin Invite Media to Attend Mars Mission Launch
- NASA and Blue Origin are inviting media to attend the launch of the ESCAPADE mission, which will study Mars’ interaction with solar wind.
- The twin ESCAPADE spacecraft will provide insight into how solar activity drives atmospheric escape on Mars, and will be launched on NASA’s New Glenn rocket.
- Media interested in covering the launch must apply for media credentials by October 13th at 11:59 p.m. EDT, and can submit requests online through https://media.ksc.nasa.gov.
- The ESCAPADE mission is part of NASA’s Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program and is funded by the agency’s Heliophysics Division, with launch services secured under a VADR contract.
- Accredited media will have access to pre-launch media activities and can cover the launch, which is targeted for later this fall from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
NASA and Blue Origin are reopening media accreditation for the launch of the agency’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission. The twin ESCAPADE spacecraft will study the solar wind’s interaction with Mars, providing insight into the planet’s real-time response to space weather and how solar activity drives atmospheric escape. This will be the second launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
Media interested in covering ESCAPADE launch activities must apply for media credentials. Media who previously applied for media credentials for the ESCAPADE launch do not need to reapply.
U.S. media and U.S. citizens representing international media must apply by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 13. Media accreditation requests should be submitted online to: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov.
A copy of NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. For questions about accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. For other mission questions, please contact NASA Kennedy’s newsroom: 321-867-2468.
Blue Origin is targeting later this fall for the launch of New Glenn’s second mission (NG-2) from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Accredited media will have the opportunity to participate in prelaunch media activities and cover the launch. Once a specific launch date is targeted, NASA and Blue Origin will communicate additional details regarding the media event schedule.
NASA will post updates on launch preparations for the twin Martian orbiters on the ESCAPADE blog.
The ESCAPADE mission is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program and is funded by the agency’s Heliophysics Division. The mission is led by the University of California, Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory, and Rocket Lab designed the spacecraft. The agency’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, secured launch services under the VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.
To learn more about ESCAPADE, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade
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Abbey Interrante
Headquarters, Washington
301-201-0124
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov
Leejay Lockhart
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-747-8310
leejay.lockhart@nasa.gov