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NASA has selected Relativity Space, the rocket company led by former Google executive chair Eric Schmidt, for a commercial science mission to Mars. The Aeolus mission will carry NASA instruments into Martian orbit and is targeting launch in 2028.
Under the partnership, NASA will supply the science instruments. Relativity will build the spacecraft, provide the Terran R rocket and manage the journey to Mars. The agreement places a company that has not reached orbit on a demanding interplanetary schedule.
Aeolus will carry four instruments designed to study the Martian atmosphere and surface. NASA expects the mission to provide the first daily global view of dust, winds, clouds and temperature across Mars. Radar equipment will also examine shallow ice and geological features below the surface.
The data could help mission teams plan safer routes for robotic landers and future crews. Weather conditions can affect entry, descent and landing operations. Therefore, global measurements may give engineers more current information than spacecraft with narrower observation schedules.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said commercial investment could help the agency obtain science data faster. “By pairing NASA’s world-class instruments with commercial innovation and investment, we can deliver more science, more often,” he said. Yet doubts remain over whether Relativity can complete its rocket and spacecraft before the planned launch window.
Relativity Space was founded in 2015 by former engineers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. The company focused on using 3D printing to lower production costs. Its first rocket, Terran 1, launched in March 2023 but failed after the second stage stopped working.
The company later ended Terran 1 and shifted resources to Terran R, a larger reusable rocket. Terran R has not completed an orbital launch. Relativity must now finish the vehicle while developing the spacecraft and systems needed for a Mars flight.
Schmidt took a majority stake in Relativity in 2025 and became chief executive. NASA has not disclosed the value of the Aeolus agreement. Relativity has also released limited technical details, leaving its development schedule and testing plan unclear.
“Public-private partnerships like this are a force multiplier for science,” Isaacman said. Still, the mission carries execution risks since the rocket has not flown and Relativity has no completed orbital mission.
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The Aeolus mission could place Relativity in a race with SpaceX to send a privately operated spacecraft to Mars. Elon Musk has discussed Mars missions for years, but SpaceX has not launched a company mission to the planet.
Relativity plans to include a Relay Data Center in Mars orbit. The system would use onboard computing and storage to process information before sending it to Earth through optical and radio links. The company said it plans to release the mission’s science data, algorithms and automation findings publicly.
The Mars plan follows NASA’s wider use of private companies for transport and science services. SpaceX carries cargo and crews to the International Space Station, while commercial providers have delivered NASA instruments to the Moon.
Nevertheless, Aeolus depends on unfinished systems. Relativity must prove Terran R in flight, complete the Mars spacecraft and meet the 2028 target. A delay in any major part could move the mission to a later Mars launch window.
