University of California – Berkeley

Blue Origin launches twin Mars probes for NASA as New Glenn makes first landing

November 13, 2025 William Harwood

Blue Origin launched its second heavy-lift New Glenn rocket Thursday, putting two small NASA satellites onto a long, looping course to Mars to learn more about how the sun has slowly blown away the red planet’s once thick atmosphere.

Launch preview: Blue Origin to launch NASA’s ESCAPADE following scrubs from clouds, space weather

November 13, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

Blue Origin was able to secure permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for a daytime launch attempt while the emergency order constraining commercial launches remains in place even after the end of the government shutdown. Liftoff is scheduled during an 88-minute-long window that opens at 2:57 p.m. EST (1957 UTC).

Arab world’s first interplanetary spacecraft safely arrives at Mars

February 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The United Arab Emirates became the fifth nation or space agency to put a spacecraft into orbit around Mars on Tuesday with the arrival of Hope, a probe built in partnership with U.S. scientists to obtain a unique global perspective on the Red Planet’s weather and climate.

Live coverage: United Arab Emirates probe arrives in orbit around Mars

February 9, 2021 Stephen Clark

The Emirates Mars Mission, the first deep space probe from the Arab world, steered into orbit around the Red Planet on Tuesday to cap a 307 million-mile (494 million-kilometer), 205-day interplanetary voyage from Earth and begin a science mission studying the Martian climate. The critical 27-minute Mars Orbit Insertion maneuver began at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).

UAE’s Hope orbiter on course for arrival at Mars

February 8, 2021 Stephen Clark

The first interplanetary probe from the United Arab Emirates is set to enter orbit around Mars on Tuesday, the first of three robotic missions taking aim on the Red Planet this month.

United Arab Emirates successfully sends its first mission toward Mars

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

Riding a Japanese rocket, the Arab world’s first interplanetary probe departed planet Earth on Sunday to begin a seven-month journey to Mars on a dual mission of scientific exploration and proving the mettle of the UAE’s growing space program.

H-2A launch timeline with the Emirates Mars Mission

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

It will take approximately one hour for a Japanese H-2A rocket to propel the Hope Mars orbiter on a trajectory to escape Earth’s gravitational bond, kicking off a seven-month journey to the Red Planet.

Live coverage: Emirates Mars Mission launches from Japan

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Japanese H-2A rocket launched at 5:58 p.m. EDT (2158 GMT) Sunday from the Tanegashima Space Center with the Emirates Mars Mission’s Hope orbiter, the UAE’s first probe to Mars.

Photos: H-2A rocket reaches launch pad with UAE’s Hope Mars probe

July 19, 2020 Stephen Clark

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries transferred an H-2A rocket to its launch pad at the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan on Sunday, ready to commence a final countdown before liftoff with the Hope Mars mission for the United Arab Emirates.

Live coverage: Launch of Emirates Mars Mission rescheduled for Sunday

July 14, 2020 Stephen Clark

The launch of a Japanese H-2A rocket with the Emirates Mars Mission, a Mars orbiter developed in partnership between Emirati and U.S. scientists, was delayed Tuesday due to poor weather at the H-2A’s launch site on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. Officials later announced that liftoff would not occur Thursday, again citing bad weather at the launch site. A new launch attempt is scheduled for Sunday, weather permitting.