Relativity Space — a rocket maker acquired by former Google executive Eric Schmidt last year after stumbling on the path to orbit — might just beat SpaceX on its way to Mars.
On Tuesday, NASA said it had hired the company to build a spacecraft that could house an array of scientific instruments, launch it into space and fly to Mars.
The structure of the contract is similar to the deals NASA made with SpaceX to fly cargo to the International Space Station, or with Firefly Aerospace to put a lander on the moon. The government agency provides the science, while the private company provides cheap infrastructure.
Aeolus, as the mission is called, will carry four instruments to measure and image Mars from orbit, which NASA expects will be the first daily, global view of dust, wind and temperature in its atmosphere. The agency said data will make it safer for landers and, someday, astronauts, to visit the Red Planet’s surface.
“By combining NASA’s world-class instruments with commercial innovation and investment, we can deliver more science more often and shorten the time it takes to get vital data into the hands of researchers preparing for future human missions to Mars,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.
The mission will launch in 2028 – a fast pace that Relativity needs to design and build the spacecraft that will carry the Aeolus instruments, and complete construction of the rocket that will carry it to space, all on a tight timeline. NASA has not disclosed how much it is paying Relativity for the mission, and Relativity did not respond to questions from JS.
Isaacman, who has flown to space twice on private SpaceX missions, has championed public-private partnerships like this. Under this model, the company partnering with NASA takes on a portion of the project’s development costs in exchange for allowing NASA to further expand its budget – a structure that has become an example of how the agency funds ambitious missions without shouldering all the financial risk itself.
But NASA also takes risks: the theory of relativity is unproven and there is no guarantee that the mission will get off the ground at all. Previous NASA startup partners have gone bankrupt or seen lunar landers arrive crooked. The potential payoff for the company is intended to extend beyond the NASA contract itself to include commercial applications such as launching satellites or delivering cargo to the moon. But the further into space these partnerships go, the murkier the market for commercial services becomes.
Relativity was founded in 2015 by two former SpaceX and Blue Origin engineers, with the idea of maxing out 3D printing as a way to build a cheaper rocket. The company’s first design, Terran-1, was launched in March 2023 and failed mid-flight. The theory of relativity was doubled down by moving to a larger design called the Terran R.
Before Relativity could bring it to market, the company faced fundraising challenges, and Schmidt took a majority stake in the company last year and installed himself as CEO. He has been tight-lipped about the investment, but has expressed interest in orbital data centers and would use Relativity to launch a space telescope, Lazuili, funded by his family philanthropy, Schmidt Sciences.
The former tech executive’s decision to acquire a space company last year puzzled some observers because rocketry is a crowded and capital-intensive industry. But pent-up demand for new rockets – fueled by delays to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin – could still lead to a reward for Schmidt if Terran R can actually reach space.
And the new contract could give Schmidt the opportunity to persuade Elon Musk, a regular sparring partner of his in the field of AI safety. While Musk has long talked about his ambitions on Mars, SpaceX has never sent its own mission to Mars (no, the Tesla he launched into space in 2018 missed).
If Relativity’s Aeolus is launched on time, it could be the first private mission to reach the Red Planet.
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