New Glenn is the first orbital rocket developed by Blue Origin, which was founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos. The two-stage heavy lifter had just one flight under its belt before Thursday — a test mission that lifted off in January 2025, sending a prototype version of Blue Origin's Blue Ring spacecraft platform to orbit.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity appears to be missing rotor blades in Perseverance rover imagery captured. The rover's SuperCam Remote imager was used to capture the pic. Credit: Space.com | NASA/JPL-Caltec

The ESCAPADE mission, which launched to space on a Blue Origin rocket on Thursday, breaks the mold of how planetary science missions typically come together.

Learn about past and upcoming Mars missions, NASA's role in Mars exploration, and the future of human space travel, including technological innovations and challenges.

When America first dreamed of sending astronauts to another world, German-American rocket engineer Wernher von Braun didn’t want to go to the Moon. He wanted to send dozens of people to Mars. He envisioned a winged craft soaring through the Red Planet ...

A NASA mission will send twin spacecraft to Mars to learn what happened to the Red Planet's ancient, thick atmosphere.

Helicopters on Mars may sound like something from a science fiction novel — or perhaps just a typical "Doctor Who" episode. But actually, they're not fully confined to the world of sci-fi; after all, Mars exploration has a promising future ahead ...

NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity recently completed a pair of flights. See the first imagery from flight 33 and a time-lapse from flight 32. Credit: Space.com | footage courtesy: NASA/JPL-Caltech | ed