NASA is teaming up with Eric Schmidt’s Relativity Space to supply a spacecraft and rocket for an upcoming Mars orbiter mission. Scheduled for a launch target in 2028, the mission will carry four NASA-built instruments to measure Martian temperature, dust, wind
By the time the countdown hits 2028. NASA expects to be listening to Mars in a more detailed way than it has for years. The mission now taking shape pairs NASA’s science hardware with a private company’s spacecraft and launch system—Relativity Space. founded by and led through a period of rapid change after former Google CEO Eric Schmidt took the helm in March 2025.
NASA announced on Wednesday that Relativity Space will provide the spacecraft and rocket that will place NASA’s Aeolus probe into orbit around Mars. The launch is currently targeted for sometime in 2028. Aeolus has been in the works since as early as 2017. and its mission is focused: four NASA-built instruments will study temperature. dust. wind and cloud conditions on the Red Planet.
The objective isn’t abstract. NASA says the data gathered by Aeolus could one day help reduce the risk to landings on Mars—both crewed and uncrewed. For planners. landing on another world is a high-stakes gamble with every descent: better atmospheric measurements mean fewer surprises when missions are trying to touch down safely.
Relativity Space itself is a company built around speed and manufacturing ambition. Founded in 2016, it became known for plans to 3D-print rocket components. Its rockets have not yet reached orbit. a gap the company says should narrow in late 2026. when its two-stage. reusable Terran R is set to make its debut voyage.
Under the terms of this partnership, NASA will support the scientific instruments for at least one Mars year—about 1.88 Earth years—while Relativity Space will maintain the spacecraft itself.
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman framed the deal in terms of delivery and timing. “Public-private partnerships like this are a force multiplier for science,” Isaacman said in a statement. “By pairing NASA’s world‑class instruments with commercial innovation and investment. we can deliver more science. more often. and reduce the time it takes to get essential data into the hands of researchers preparing for future human missions to Mars.”.
The need for dependable atmospheric data has become sharper for NASA recently. The announcement comes just weeks after the agency revealed it had permanently lost contact with MAVEN. a spacecraft dedicated to studying Martian atmospheric conditions. MAVEN was launched in 2013. but began to have issues with its rotation pattern last December. shortly before NASA lost the ability to detect the spacecraft.
That loss didn’t just eliminate one target in the sky. MAVEN’s role is tied to the Mars Relay Network—an effort jointly run by NASA and the European Space Agency that enables communication with probes on Mars’s surface. With MAVEN gone. the network’s ability to support surface operations undercuts the kind of communication reliability future missions depend on.
Taken together. the moves point to a tension in how NASA gets answers from Mars: it needs instruments and spacecraft that can keep sending data. but it also needs launch and operations pipelines that can withstand real-world failures. Aeolus is meant to deliver atmospheric measurements—temperature. dust. wind and cloud conditions—while NASA and Relativity Space build an architecture designed to keep science moving toward safer landings.
For now, Aeolus remains on track as a new attempt to turn Mars’s shifting conditions into actionable knowledge. With Relativity Space expected to debut Terran R in late 2026 and the Aeolus launch currently targeted for sometime in 2028. NASA is betting that its next chapter of Mars monitoring will be both more robust and faster to deliver once it reaches orbit.
NASA Relativity Space Eric Schmidt Aeolus probe Mars orbiter Terran R MAVEN Mars atmosphere landing risk Martian dust Martian wind Martian clouds
So they’re gonna be listening to Mars in 2028? Cool I guess.
Eric Schmidt is involved now?? That’s like… Google money on a Mars rocket lol. I don’t trust it, rockets not even in orbit yet and they’re already sending stuff to Mars.
Wait, is this the same Aeolus that already launched or is it a brand new thing? The article says “in the works since 2017” but then talks like nothing happened yet. Also 1 Mars year = 1.88 Earth years?? so they’ll be measuring for almost 2 years and then what, landers just magically show up safer?
I don’t get why NASA needs a private company for this when they could just do it themselves. It says Relativity Space’s Terran R won’t reach orbit until late 2026, so how are they even sure it’ll work by 2028? Sounds like countdowns are just hopeful dates. But hey, I’m glad they’re at least measuring dust and wind, because Mars weather always seems chaotic on documentaries.