NASA extends its commercial partnerships to Mars

Recently, NASA extended the idea of private-public partnerships to Mars. The space agency has struck a deal with Relativity Space to send an orbital probe to the Red Planet, with a launch date no earlier than 2028.

The probe is named Aeolus, named after the divine keeper of the winds in Greek mythology. In keeping with that name, NASA is providing four instruments for the probe that will send “the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds.” The understanding derived about weather on Mars will be of great help to future crewed missions.

In addition to the NASA goals, Aeolus will examine shallow ice and geology just below the Martian surface. In return, Relativity Space will provide the probe and the launch vehicle and will solicit other instruments from the commercial sector, academia and philanthropic organizations.

Relativity Space was founded in 2015 in order to develop reusable rockets. It started with small lift rockets and added medium to heavy lift to compete with companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab for the launch market. Its first rocket was the Terran 1, which achieved orbit in March 2023, but suffered an anomaly with the third stage.

The company has since retired the Terran 1 in favor of developing the larger Terran R launch vehicle. The rocket, capable of launching 23,500 kilograms to low Earth orbit, is scheduled for its first launch later this year. The company envisions Terran R to be the launch vehicle for the Aeolus probe.

Aeolus is the first mission under........

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