The partnership marks the latest foray into space exploration by Relativity Space, which aims to build cheap, reusable rockets.
By Adam Kovac edited by Claire Cameron
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announces a public-private partnership to advance science on Mars during an event at Relativity Space on June 17, 2026.
Relativity space
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NASA is partnering with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s Relativity Space to expand its Mars monitoring capabilities.
The space agency announced Wednesday that the private space company will provide the spacecraft and rocket that will place NASA’s Aeolus probe into orbit around Mars, with a launch currently planned for 2028.
The probe, in the works since 2017, will use four NASA-built instruments to study temperature, dust, wind and cloud conditions on the Red Planet. The goal of the mission is to collect data that could one day help reduce the risks of landing on Mars, with or without a crew.
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Relativity Space was founded in 2016 and quickly made waves with its plans for 3D printed rocket components. Although the company’s rockets have not yet reached orbit, that is expected to change in late 2026, when Relativity Space’s reusable two-stage Terran R is expected to make its first trip. Schmidt took over as CEO of the company in March 2025.
Under the terms of the new partnership, NASA will support the science instruments for at least one Martian year (about 1.88 Earth years), and Relativity Space will maintain the spacecraft itself.
“Public-private partnerships like this are a force multiplier for science,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement. statement. “By combining NASA’s world-class instruments with innovation and commercial investment, we can produce more science, more often, and reduce the time it takes to get critical data to researchers preparing for future human missions to Mars. »
The announcement comes just weeks after NASA revealed it had contact permanently lost with another spacecraft dedicated to the study of Martian atmospheric conditions. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft was launched in 2013 but began having problems with its rotation pattern last December, shortly before the space agency lost the ability to detect the spacecraft.
The loss was compounded by MAVEN’s role in the joint NASA and European Space Agency Mars Relay network, which enables communication with probes on the surface of Mars.
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