The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded a contract worth US$ 700 million with Blue Origin Enterprises, L.P. (Blue Origin), a private American space technology company, to develop and operate a communications network around Mars. The contract is part of NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program, which is developing communications and navigation infrastructure for missions farther from Earth.
In a statement, NASA said that Blue Origin will design, build, launch and operate a telecommunications spacecraft in Mars orbit, under the firm-fixed-price contract. The spacecraft is expected to be delivered by Dec. 31, 2028, with the network scheduled to become operational in 2030. The Mars Telecommunications Network will relay science data, images, navigation information and other communications between spacecraft operating on and around Mars and Earth. NASA said the system is intended to support both existing and future missions.
“MTO is the backbone of America’s Mars exploration program for the next decade and beyond and will provide the reliable communications capacity that will keep future robotic and human missions connected to each other and to Earth,” Tory Bruno, President, Blue National Security said in a press release. “This awarded contract is a testament to the Blue Origin team that has been building the Blue Ring with exactly this kind of mission in mind. We’re ready, and so is the hardware.”
Blue Origin further said that multiple Blue Ring spacecraft were already in production, sized for a rate of four vehicles per year. MTO will serve as a communications system, enabling high-bandwidth communications and navigation services for current and future Mars missions. The network aims to deliver near-continuous communications between Mars assets and ground controllers on Earth, transmitting science data, imagery, navigation information, and critical mission communications for spacecraft operating on and around the planet.
NASA expects the number of Mars missions and the amount of data they generate to increase as robotic exploration expands and NASA prepares for eventual human missions.
NASA issued its request for proposals in May. The agency has increasingly used commercial companies for transportation and communications services in Earth orbit and for planned lunar infrastructure.
The Mars network is intended to provide additional communications capacity and reduce reliance on individual mission-specific systems as the number of spacecraft operating at Mars grows. Meanwhile, NASA’s Artemis program is focused on returning astronauts to the Moon and using lunar missions to prepare for future human exploration of Mars. Robotic missions are expected to continue supporting that effort before crewed missions to the planet.