A geomagnetic storm on Earth triggered by a large burst of solar radiation has temporarily grounded a Blue Origin rocket carrying twin NASA satellites built to measure space weather on Mars. Blue Orig

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launches NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft into Earth orbit on a mission to study Mars’ space weather.

The declaration came on Wednesday, December 21, after NASA failed to make contact with the lander across two consecutive attempts, leading the mission team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to conclude that InSight’s solar-powered batteries had run out of energy, a state referred to as “dead bus.”