A non-public document reveals that science may not be prioritized on next Mars mission
Source: Ars Technica
# MTO is now MTN
*Credit: Rocket Lab*
The US space agency has released a **pre‑solicitation** for what is expected to be a hotly contested contract to develop a spacecraft that will orbit Mars and relay communications from the Red Planet back to Earth.
Ars covered the intrigue surrounding the spacecraft in late January. The effort was initiated by U.S. Senator **Ted Cruz** (R‑TX) as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” legislation in the summer of 2025. The bill provided **$700 million** for NASA to develop the orbiter and required funding to be awarded **no later than fiscal year 2026** (ending September 30, 2026). Although the legislation appeared to favor a single contractor—Rocket Lab—multiple sources told Ars that the language was poorly written, leaving the competition more open than intended.
The [pre‑solicitation released this week](https://sam.gov/workspace/contract/opp/5a5f10aa85f440eca99fd75b8c69e761/view) is **not** a request for proposals. Instead, it seeks feedback from industry and interested stakeholders on an “objectives and requirements” document that outlines the goals of the Mars mission. The 24‑page document is listed as “controlled” on the government procurement website, but a copy obtained by Ars reveals four top‑level objectives:
1. **Communications & data exchange** between assets in the Mars vicinity, the Mars surface, and Earth, anticipated to operate through 2035.
2. **Doppler, range, and time‑transfer** services to support positioning, navigation, and timing for assets anticipated to operate at Mars through 2035.
3. **Communications services** to existing operational missions.
4. **Communications, Doppler, range, and time‑transfer** services for Entry, Descent, and Landing demonstration missions anticipated to operate at Mars through 2035.
> *NASA has also renamed the spacecraft: what was once called the **Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO)** is now the **Mars Telecommunications Network (MTN)**.*
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*For more background, see the Ars Technica article: [NASA faces a crucial choice on a Mars spacecraft—and it must decide soon](https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/nasa-faces-a-crucial-choice-on-a-mars-spacecraft-and-it-must-decide-soon/).*What About Science?
Beyond the top‑level objectives, the non‑public document includes 14 different “ground rules and assumptions.”
The last of these touches on one of the biggest questions surrounding the spacecraft: science.
- The mission is slated to launch no earlier than late 2028.
- It is the only large spacecraft NASA could possibly launch to Mars during the Trump presidency and may be NASA’s only major Mars mission for the rest of the decade.
Pressure to Add Scientific Payloads
Because the available funding exceeds what a reasonably capable communications spacecraft should cost, there is pressure from the science community—and from several people within the agency—to add scientific instruments to the orbiter.
“Three good instruments could be added for about $200 million,” a science official said.
Potential payload ideas include:
- A high‑resolution camera
- A space‑weather payload
- A magnetometer to study Mars’ remnant magnetic field
- A spectrometer to search for near‑surface water ice
The 14th Ground Rule
“SMD payload is not precluded, and schedule risk is critically important.”
- SMD = NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which leads the agency’s scientific endeavors.
- The wording “not precluded” means a bidder may include a scientific payload, but it is not required.
- NASA will carefully screen any scientific proposal for risks to the launch schedule.
Implications for Bidders
The document suggests that when NASA scores bidders for the Mars Telecommunications Network, the addition of a camera or other scientific payload won’t automatically be a net positive. If the payload introduces schedule risk, it will be considered a net negative.
New award to Rocket Lab may complicate things
One of the other intriguing parts of this mission is that it sets up a battle‑royale of sorts for some of NASA’s most prominent contractors. Rocket Lab and Blue Origin have both waged very public campaigns touting their solutions to NASA’s needs. SpaceX is also interested in winning a Mars mission for its Starship launch system, and traditional contractors such as Lockheed Martin have a long, storied history of building robust (if costly) Mars missions.
If NASA is going to launch the Mars Telecommunications Network by late 2028 to make the next “window” to the Red Planet, it must move quickly with this solicitation. Industry protests after a decision is made could hold up the project for months and would almost certainly doom NASA’s hopes of meeting the 2028 launch opportunity.
On Monday the space agency awarded a $390,936 contract to Rocket Lab to study “Mars End‑to‑End Communication Service Architectures.” The award is not significant monetarily, but it does indicate that NASA is interested in Rocket Lab’s ideas for improving communications between Earth and Mars—and potentially a Mars Sample Return mission down the road. However, one source suggested to Ars Technica that the award could present a conflict of interest.
The contracting office for the Rocket Lab award is Goddard Space Flight Center, which also manages the Mars Telecommunications Network. The fact that Rocket Lab alone received an award from the NASA center that will later decide on the orbiting spacecraft—coterminous when such a decision is made—could become the basis of one or more protests should Rocket Lab win the Mars Telecommunications Network contract, the source told Ars Technica.
Author
Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA policy, and author of two books: Liftoff (about the rise of SpaceX) and Reentry (on the development of the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon). A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston.
Comments have been omitted for brevity.