NASA extends its commercial partnerships to Mars
Key takeaways
- The probe is named Aeolus, named after the divine keeper of the winds in Greek mythology.
- In addition to the NASA goals, Aeolus will examine shallow ice and geology just below the Martian surface.
- Relativity Space was founded in 2015 in order to develop reusable rockets.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Whittington, opinion contributor - 06/28/26 10:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Mark R. Whittington, opinion contributor - 06/28/26 10:00 AM ET Comments: Link copied. This illustration provided by NASA depicts the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolutio N) spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. (NASA/GSFC via AP) Recently, NASA extended the idea of private-public partnerships to Mars. The space agency has struck a deal with Relativity Space to send an orbital probe to the Red Planet, with a launch date no earlier than 2028.
The probe is named Aeolus, named after the divine keeper of the winds in Greek mythology. In keeping with that name, NASA is providing four instruments for the probe that will send the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds. The understanding derived about weather on Mars will be of great help to future crewed missions.
In addition to the NASA goals, Aeolus will examine shallow ice and geology just below the Martian surface. In return, Relativity Space will provide the probe and the launch vehicle and will solicit other instruments from the commercial sector, academia and philanthropic organizations.