Blue Origin aims to land next New Glenn booster, then reuse it for Moon mission

There's a good bit riding on the second launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket.

Most directly, the fate of a NASA science mission to study Mars's upper atmosphere hinges on a successful launch. The second flight of Blue Origin's heavy-lifter will send two NASA-funded satellites toward the red planet to study the processes that drove Mars's evolution from a warmer, wetter world to the cold, dry planet of today.

A successful launch would also nudge Blue Origin closer to winning certification from the Space Force to begin launching national security satellites.

But there's more on the line. If Blue Origin plans to launch its first robotic Moon lander early next year —as currently envisioned —the company needs to recover the New Glenn rocket's first stage booster. Crews will again disp