NASA To Launch Mission To Mars On Blue Origin's New Glenn

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning a mission to Mars that will ride up aboard  ‘New Glenn’. It is Blue Origin’s first big government contract for the as-yet-untested launch vehicle.

The launch vehicle was announced in 2016, will compete with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy among other heavy-lift options.

New Glenn's first flight, was scheduled for late 2021 but this was postponed allegedly due to a contract with the Pentagon falling through.

The launch contract will be implemented through the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program at NASA. In last year, NASA has been assigned a maximum of USD 300 million, which is to be divided among 13 companies for launch services of multiple types. 

NASA said that these small satellites and Class D payloads tolerate relatively high risk situations and serve as a suitable platform for technical and architecture innovation.