NASA has officially announced plans to allocate dedicated space for a small science payload, which may include free-flying CubeSats, on its upcoming Mars Telecommunications Network spacecraft.
Initially, the draft request for proposals issued earlier this month for the impressive $700 million communications relay mission did not mention any scientific function.
However, during a recent industry day presentation, the space agency officially confirmed a new requirement to seamlessly incorporate scientific instruments, aligning with broader leadership commitments to include dedicated science on every major planetary mission in the future.
Under the updated technical specifications, competing missions must support a specialized science payload weighing up to 20 kilograms within a compact volume. The equipment will draw up to 60 watts of power and generate between 200 and 1,000 megabits of data daily for researchers.
While NASA will actively supply the payload, which could involve deploying CubeSats directly into Martian orbit, officials noted that they are currently discussing specific instrument options.
Louise Prockter, director of the planetary science division, emphasized that these additions will not affect the strict mission schedule. The agency anticipates the spacecraft will launch in late 2028 and become fully operational around Mars by 2030.
To aggressively meet strict legislative funding deadlines, NASA plans to release the final request for proposals by May, with a highly anticipated contract award expected by the end of September.
The lucrative procurement is being conducted as a fully open competition, attracting significant commercial interest from major aerospace players. Leading private companies, including Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, Firefly Aerospace, and Lockheed Martin, have all participated in recent industry briefings.
Aerospace executives have already expressed strong strategic intent to leverage their extensive deep-space engineering experience to secure this critical Mars telecommunications contract.