All Mars launches are big deals, but this one had some extra juice.

NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission lifted off atop Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket from Florida's Space Coast on Thursday (Nov. 13), kicking off a circuitous trip to the Red Planet.

It was a big moment for NASA, for planetary scientists and for private spaceflight. Here's a brief rundown of why it mattered so much.

1. The first Mars launch in more than five years

Though NASA has explored the Red Planet extensively over the past few decades, launches to the fourth planet from the sun remain relatively rare. The last such liftoff occurred on July 30, 2020, when NASA's sample-collecting Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter roared into Earth's skies atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.

ESCAPADE (short fo

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