NASA has awarded Blue Origin a contract to develop a dedicated Mars communications network designed to provide reliable, high-bandwidth communications and navigation services for current and future Mars missions.
The fixed-price contract has a maximum potential value of approximately $700 million. Under the agreement, Blue Origin will deliver a high-performance Mars communications orbiter to NASA by December 31, 2028.
Blue Origin will design, develop, integrate, establish and operate the communications network as part of NASA’s broader space communications and navigation infrastructure. The planned system will include a high-performance spacecraft orbiting Mars to transmit scientific data, images, navigation information and critical mission communications between Earth and spacecraft operating on and around the Red Planet.
The contract award marks an important milestone in NASA’s strategy to expand communications and navigation services beyond Earth and the Moon. It will also help establish the infrastructure needed to support Mars exploration for decades to come.
Through the Artemis program, NASA is sending astronauts to the Moon while preparing for future human missions to Mars. Robotic missions are helping pave the way for human exploration, and the growing number of Mars missions is expected to create increasing demand for data transmission. NASA’s dedicated Mars communications network is intended to provide greater capacity, reliability and operational flexibility for these missions.
The selection follows a request for proposals that NASA issued in May. As NASA continues to work with commercial partners on transportation, communications services in Earth orbit and lunar infrastructure, the Mars Telecommunications Network initiative will likewise use private-sector expertise while allowing the agency to focus on exploration and scientific discovery.
Managed by NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Program, the Mars communications network is scheduled to become operational by 2030. The system will support current and future missions to Mars as NASA expands its exploration deeper into space.
Learn more about NASA’s space communications and navigation initiatives below.
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Rob Marghetta
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0918
[email protected]
Rob Garner
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
301-286-5687
[email protected]
Source: www.nasa.gov