NASA PARTNERS WITH RELATIVITY SPACE FOR MARS ORBITER MISSION

NASA has selected Relativity Space to deliver a Martian orbiter mission called Aeolus, with launch targeted for 2028. Relativity Space, whose chief executive is former Google chairman Eric Schmidt, will provide the spacecraft, rocket and cruise operations to transport NASA's science instruments to Mars. The partnership follows NASA's established model of collaborating with private space companies to ferry payloads to their destinations. Schmidt acquired Relativity Space in March 2025.

Aeolus will carry four science instruments designed and built by researchers at NASA's Ames Research Centre in Silicon Valley, California. The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder will measure wind and temperature profiles, whilst the Thermal Limb Sounder will provide vertical temperature observations and data on dust and water-ice clouds. The Surface Radiometric Sensor Package will measure surface energy balance and cloud properties, and the Wide-Field Context Camera will capture daily global images of atmospheric activity. According to NASA, these instruments will provide the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust and clouds.

The mission builds on previous Mars atmospheric studies conducted by orbiters including Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN, which NASA recently declared inactive after six months without contact. NASA states that understanding Martian dust, winds, temperatures and seasonal atmospheric behaviour will reduce risks for future landings on the planet, both crewed and uncrewed. Relativity Space has yet to release technical specifications for the spacecraft and rocket or demonstrate its capacity to execute missions of this scale. The agency describes Aeolus as a proof of concept for future missions within its Interplanetary Sciences Programme.