WORLDTECHAfter Decades, NASA May Finally Replace Mars Relays
Full credit
File:NASA Science Calendar 2021.pdf / NASA This image was created with Adobe InDesign . / https://eospso.nasa.gov/https%3A/eospso.gsfc.nasa.gov/publications/2021-nasa-science-calendar ( direct link ) / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain / https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NASA_Science_Calendar_2021.pdfSource pageWhat happened
Given the incredible premium put on the mass of an interplanetary craft, each mission that needs to bring along its own link back to Earth effectively reduces its payload of much scientific equipment. While it’s understandable that the first craft to arrive at Mars had to operate in isolation, even the flagship Perseverance and Curiosity rovers carry their own high-gain radio systems so they can communicate directly with Earth.
It’s not that satellites in orbit around the planet aren’t used to relay signals between Martian ground assets and their controllers back on Earth. In fact these relay links are used extensively for bandwidth-intensive tasks such as image transfers.
But it’s also true that the craft currently available to act as intermediaries between the two planets aren’t terribly well suited to the task. The current fleet of Mars orbiters were conceived primary as research vehicles, and so every decision regarding their design and positioning around the planet was made with that goal in mind.
Sources & evidence
- Hackaday Reporting source
After Decades, NASA May Finally Replace Mars Relays ↗
https://hackaday.com/2026/09/24/after-decades-nasa-may-finally-replace-mars-relays/