A pair of Mars-bound satellites are back at Kennedy Space Center a year after NASA bowed out of its chance to be part of the debut launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn.

The satellites for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, constructed by Rocket Lab, look to fly on what would be New Glenn’s second ever mission.

The two small satellites, dubbed Blue and Gold, were built by Rocket Lab in California for NASA and the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory.

“It’s been a long road, but we are so excited to be launching Blue & Gold on their mission to understand the Martian space weather environment.” said Rob Lillis, the mission’s principal investigator and associate director for planetary science at the UC Berkeley Space Sciences L

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