Next stop, not Mars: Why NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes are taking the long way to the Red Planet after Blue Origin launch

An illustration showing two large satellites with solar arrays on either side floating above the reddish-brownish surface of Mars.

For the first time in more than five years, humanity has launched a mission to Mars — but it won't be arriving at the Red Planet anytime soon.

NASA's twin ESCAPADE probes launched Thursday (Nov. 13) on the second-ever flight of Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket. It was the first Mars liftoff since July 30, 2020, when NASA's Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter took flight atop an Atlas V rocket.