NASA Draws on Industry for Mars Telecommunications Network

On Thursday, NASA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), seeking industry collaboration for the Mars Telecommunications Network.

Reliable, high bandwidth communications is necessary to relay science data, high-definition imagery, and critical information during Mars missions. The network will use high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiters at the Red Planet to support future surface, orbital, and human exploration.

This RFP builds on a draft released April 2, as well as insights gathered during the accompanying industry day at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where commercial partners provided feedback on agency objectives for the Mars Telecommunications Network.

The request seeks responses that address both current and future operational missions. It also seeks a science payload accommodation that will be selected by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. Industry is asked to respond within 30 calendar days of the posting, and the network should be ready to operate at Mars no later than 2030.

The Mars Telecommunications Network is part of NASA’s evolving space architecture, extending continuous network services beyond Earth to the Moon and Mars. The Mars Telecommunications Network is part of NASA’s SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) Program’s Moon to Mars strategy, and is enabled by the direction and funding provided by Congress in the Working Families Tax Cut Act.