Relativity Space — a rocket maker that former Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt acquired last year after stumbling on its way to orbit — might just beat SpaceX to Mars. On Tuesday, NASA said it had hired the company to build a spacecraft to carry a set of scientific instruments, launch it into space and fly it to Mars.
The structure of the contract is similar to the deals NASA made with SpaceX to deliver cargo to the International Space Station or Firefly Aerospace to put a lander on the moon. The government agency handles the science, while the private company provides the low-cost infrastructure.
Aeolus, as the mission has been named, will consist of four instruments to measure and image Mars from orbit, which NASA hopes to provide the first daily, global view of dust, winds and temperatures in its atmosphere. The agency said the 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 science more often and reduce the time it takes to get needed data into the hands of researchers preparing for future human missions to Mars,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a statement.
The mission is set to launch in 2028 — a rapid pace that will require Relativity to design and build the spacecraft to carry the Aeolus instruments and complete construction of the rocket that will carry it into space, all on a limited timeline. NASA did not disclose how much it is paying Relativity for the mission, and Relativity did not respond to TechCrunch’s questions.
Isaacman, who has flown in space twice on private SpaceX missions, has supported public-private partnerships like this one. Under this model, the company working with NASA takes on part of the project’s development costs in exchange for allowing NASA to advance its budget – a structure that has become a template for how the agency finances ambitious missions without bearing all the financial risk.
But NASA is also taking risks:
Relativity is unproven, and there’s no guarantee the mission will reach the ground. NASA’s previous startup partners have gone bankrupt or failed to deliver Moon landers. The potential payoff for the company extends beyond the NASA contract, including commercial applications like launching satellites or delivering cargo to the Moon. Yet, the farther these partnerships reach, 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 using 3D printing to its maximum potential as a way to build a cheaper rocket. The company’s first design, Terran-1, launched in March 2023 and failed mid-flight. Moving to a larger design, called the Terran R, Relativity doubled down.
Before Relativity could make it to the launch pad, the company faced challenges raising money, and Schmidt took a majority stake in the company last year, installing himself as CEO. He has remained tight-lipped about investments but has expressed interest in orbital data centres and is believed to be using Relativity to launch Lazuille, a space telescope funded by his family’s philanthropy, Schmidt Sciences.
The former tech executive’s decision last year to take over a space company surprised some observers because rocketry is a crowded and capital-intensive sector. But delays at Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin have created pent-up demand for new rockets, which could still lead to a payout for Schmidt if the Terran R can actually make it to space.
And the new contract could give Schmidt a chance to outdo his regular partner Elon Musk on the issue of AI safety. While Musk has long discussed his Mars ambitions, SpaceX has never actually sent a mission to Mars (no, Tesla is the one that was launched into space in 2018 but missed).
If Relativity’s Aeolus launches on schedule, it could be the first private mission to reach the Red Planet.
