In the past week, Mars exploration has delivered a series of exciting developments on both robotic missions and upcoming launches. Blue Origin, led by Jeff Bezos, is preparing for the most ambitious test to date of its New Glenn rocket—a towering 320-foot heavy-lift launcher designed to rival SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. Earlier this month, the company successfully transported the second New Glenn booster to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. Blue Origin’s next flight, slotted for late October or early November, will mark its first deep-space payload: NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, composed of twin satellites named Blue and Gold. Built by Rocket Lab, these probes were shipped to Florida in September for their final preparations. ESCAPADE will analyze how solar wind and space weather influence the Martian atmosphere, shedding light on how the Red Planet lost much of its air over time. This mission is also a critical test for Blue Origin’s reusability ambitions, with the company aiming to recover its booster after launch according to Blue Origin, Spaceflight Now, and India TV News.

Meanwhile, Mars orbiters have offered a rare astronomical treat. Between October 1 and October 7, the European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter and Mars Express spacecraft turned their instruments toward the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it swept near Mars. This object, only the third interstellar comet ever detected, passed within 30 million kilometers of the Red Planet on October 3. ESA describes how cameras, designed to observe Mars itself, captured the comet’s coma—the luminous cloud of dust and gas surrounding its icy core. Scientists now continue analyzing the data, including spectrometric observations, in hopes of learning about the comet’s composition and behavior as it journeys closer to the Sun. According to ESA and Sky at Night Magazine, this opportunity provides a close-up look at a visitor from another star system, possibly billions of years older than our own Solar System.

Further, NASA continues to tease the scientific world with findings from its Mars rovers. Perseverance, operating in Jezero Crater, collected a sample last year from a formation called Cheyava Falls. NASA scientists, including Project Scientist Katie Stack Morgan, noted that this sample could potentially preserve evidence of ancient microbial life—what NASA cautiously describes as a “potential biosignature.” Although the scientific community awaits peer-reviewed confirmation and stresses the need for extraordinary evidence, this finding keeps the question of life on Mars one of the most compelling threads in planetary science.

Listeners following Mars exploration should stay tuned, with the ESCAPADE mission launch window approaching and more results expected from the comet observations. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to hit subscribe. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI