Relativity Space to Launch NASA's Aeolus Payload to Mars in 2028
Quick Look
- Relativity Space, led by Eric Schmidt, will launch NASA's Aeolus payload to Mars in 2028.
- The mission aims to provide the first daily global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds, informing future astronaut missions.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Relativity Space, a rocket company led by Eric Schmidt, has been selected by NASA to launch the Aeolus payload to Mars in 2028. This partnership aims to enhance understanding of the Martian atmosphere.
Relativity Space, the rocket company led by former Google executive Eric Schmidt, was picked to launch NASA’s Aeolus payload to Mars in 2028, as reported earlier by TechCrunch.
Under a new public-private partnership, Relativity Space will provide the “spacecraft, rocket, and cruise operations” to fly Aeolus to Mars, where the payload will “provide the first integrated, daily, global view of Martian winds, temperatures, dust, and clouds.”
The Aeolus payload will have four instruments on board for studying the Martian atmosphere, which NASA says will “directly inform entry, descent, and landing systems and support safer, more predictable mission planning for astronauts.”
Schmidt, who served as CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011, became Relativity Space’s CEO in 2025, a couple of years after it launched the “world’s first 3D-printed rocket,” Terran 1, which failed shortly after launch. Relativity Space’s larger Terran R rocket isn’t scheduled to have its first launch until later this year.
Open Questions
- What are the specific details of the public-private partnership?
- What is the exact cost of the mission for NASA?
