New Delhi: NASA has issued a Request for Proposal towards a planned Mars Telecommunications Network, a major new space communications system designed to support
the planned Mars Sample Return, as well as future orbital and surface operations at the Red Planet. The project calls for contractors to handle the full cycle of design, development, integration, launch and continuous on-orbit operations of high-performance telecommunications orbiters at the Red Planet. The orbiters will provide the high-bandwidth links for relaying large volumes of data. The Mars Sample Return Mission has been put on hold by NASA, but Lockheed Martin has proposed to save the mission at a fixed price.
The anticipated contract will be a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price agreement, with an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity Time and Materials component. It includes a core requirement for delivery of the Mars Telecommunications Network, plus operational work covering launch services, integration, on-orbit commissioning and five years of mission operations. The contract also permits task orders for engineering analysis to refine designs, support planning, and conduct feasibility studies. The hardware has to be realised at the facilities of the contractor. Earlier in the year, Blue Origin had indicated that its Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, based on its Blue Ring platform was ready for production.
Network to support Moon-to-Mars expansion
The initiative builds directly on a previous proposal, and incorporates industry feedback gathered during a dedicated industry day at NASA’s Goddard facility in Maryland. The Mars Telecommunications Network forms a central element to NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) programme, and the broader Moon to Mars communications architecture, extending continuous, high-capacity services across deep space. NASA aims for the system to become operational at Mars no later than 2030, to serve both near-term robotic missions and eventual human exploration of the Red Planet. The network is expected to significantly improve data rates, and operational flexibility for long-duration Mars missions.
