A rocket company that has never reached orbit now has a NASA contract to fly to Mars. Relativity Space, whose only launch to date ended in a mid-flight breakup in March 2023, was picked by the agency this week for a mission called Aeolus, set for 2028.
The company is now run by Eric Schmidt, the former Google CEO. He bought a majority stake last year, after Relativity hit fundraising trouble, and made himself chief executive. That first rocket, Terran-1, was the 3D-printing specialist’s debut effort. Relativity, founded in 2015 by former SpaceX and Blue Origin engineers, has since moved on to a much larger vehicle, the Terran R.
What Aeolus will do
Relativity is to design the spacecraft, fit its science instruments and get it to Mars. Aeolus will carry four instruments into Martian orbit. Together they are meant to give the first daily, global view of the planet’s dust, winds and atmospheric temperature.
In plain terms, think of it as a weather service for another planet. NASA says it needs that data before it sends people anywhere near the surface, and expects it to help keep future robotic landers safe too.
How the deal works
NASA keeps control of the science. The private partner pays part of the development bill and supplies cheaper infrastructure. The same model has covered SpaceX’s cargo runs to the space station and Firefly Aerospace’s Moon lander.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who has flown to space twice as a private citizen with SpaceX, welcomed the deal. In a post on X he wrote, “The quest to discover the secrets of the universe is a shared endeavor, and not exclusive to the world’s space agencies.” He said the mission could be “a model for future privately funded, philanthropic efforts in space.”
NASA has not said what it is paying. Relativity did not comment.
The risk
Analysts call this a gamble. Relativity still has to finish the spacecraft design and complete a rocket that has never flown, and it has roughly two years to do both. Past startup partners of NASA have gone bankrupt or failed in flight, and one Moon lander tipped over on arrival. TechCrunch put it bluntly: “NASA is taking on risk as well.”
The agency is wagering that lower costs justify the odds. If Aeolus slips, NASA loses a mission. If it flies on time, Relativity would become the first private company to send a real mission to Mars, something Elon Musk has promised for years without delivering.
Schmidt has said little about his plans. Industry insiders point to his interest in data centers in orbit, and to Lazuli, a space telescope paid for by his family philanthropy, Schmidt Sciences.
Sources
- NASA Picks Relativity Space for 2028 Mars Mission
- As NASA picks former Google CEO Eric Schmidtâs rocket company for Mars mission, some analysts see it as a 'risk'
