Blue and Gold are on their way to Mars!
The twin spacecraft, designed and built by Rocket Lab for and 's ESCAPADE mission, completed powered Earth gravity assists to each perfectly execute a trans-Mars Injection.
Both spacecraft fired their main engine for 9.5 minutes, hurtling past Earth at more than 10 kilometers per second, to enter an interplanetary cruise phase.
It's the first time such a maneuver has been successfully executed by spacecraft.
Blue and Gold are due to arrive at the Red Planet in September 2027 to study the Martian atmosphere.
Learn more about this ESCAPADE mission milestone:
Want to make interplanetary history with us? Our Space Systems team is hiring. See all open positions here:
