Relativity Space Plots a Private Mars Orbiter for 2028
The Eric Schmidt-led launch startup is building a Mars science orbiter funded by philanthropy — and betting its Terran R rocket gets there first.
By The space-quantum Desk
Relativity Space announced on June 17 its Interplanetary Sciences Program, with a Mars science and telecommunications orbiter as its first mission, targeted for late 2028. [1]
The spacecraft will carry an atmospheric profiling instrument suite from NASA's Ames Research Center and a radar instrument to map subsurface ice and geology. [1] It will also act as a communications node, offering high-bandwidth laser and radio-frequency links to Earth as well as radio-frequency communications with spacecraft on the Martian surface. [1]
On top of science duties, the orbiter will pack what Relativity describes as "massive" data storage and "server-class compute" for AI models and autonomous operations — though the company disclosed no figures on size, mass, or power. [1]
Funding comes from an undisclosed philanthropic organization, and the mission would fly on Terran R, Relativity's reusable medium-class rocket. [1] Industry sources expect Terran R's first launch — originally slated for late 2026 from Cape Canaveral, Florida — to slip to 2027. [1]
Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive of Google who joined Relativity as chief executive in March 2025 while also making a significant investment in the company, is no stranger to space philanthropy. [1] Schmidt Sciences, founded by Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, announced in January the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Observatory System, a suite of four observatories that includes Lazuli, a space telescope with a primary mirror larger than the Hubble Space Telescope, also targeting a Terran R launch as soon as 2028. [1]
What's emerging is a model where private capital and scientific ambition compress timelines that government agencies have stretched across decades — with a reusable rocket as the common thread.
The Mars orbiter is meant as a proof of concept for further missions Relativity says will eventually "collect data throughout the solar system" — a promise that hinges on Terran R reaching orbit first. [1]
an initiative to enable radically more science per dollar by building the next generation of interplanetary capabilities that make scientific discovery more capable and accessible.Relativity Space