NASA has announced a public-private partnership to advance Mars atmospheric science, pairing the agency’s scientific expertise with commercial capabilities from Relativity Space, the agency said Wednesday.
Under the agreement, NASA will provide the Aeolus atmospheric-science instrument payload suite while Relativity Space supplies the spacecraft, rocket and cruise operations needed to deliver the instruments to Mars. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2028.
Aeolus is a NASA-developed suite of four complementary instruments designed to provide the first integrated, daily global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust and clouds, according to the agency. The data is intended to improve atmospheric models and reduce risk for future crewed and uncrewed landings by directly informing entry, descent and landing systems.
The four instruments include the Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder, which measures wind and temperature profiles from the surface to approximately 37 miles altitude; the Thermal Limb Sounder, which provides vertical temperature profiles and observations of dust and water-ice clouds; the Surface Radiometric Sensor Package, which measures surface energy balance, dust and cloud properties; and the Wide-Field Context Camera, which captures daily global images of atmospheric activity.
Researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley will design, build and integrate the payload, while Relativity Space manages spacecraft development and mission operations, NASA said.
The agency said it will support science instrument operations for at least one Martian year while Relativity Space maintains the spacecraft. The agency will also develop a data-processing pipeline to convert raw measurements into ready-to-use data products for the broader scientific community.
The effort is structured under NASA’s first six-year reimbursable Space Act Agreement, which NASA said provides a stable framework for sustained collaboration, predictable development and mission continuity. NASA said the partnership reflects its commitment to accelerating discovery, expanding mission cadence and strengthening the foundation for future human exploration of Mars.
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