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6 Reasons a Mars Telecommunications Orbiter Matters to Us All
NASA’s Mars objectives are clear: Search for signs of ancient life, understand the Red Planet’s climate and geology, and prepare for future human exploration.
The rockets, rovers, and spacecraft that make this exploration possible all rely on an invisible backbone. Communications. Every image, every discovery, every scientific breakthrough from another world needs to travel across hundreds of millions of kilometers back to Earth.
Rocket Lab’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) will make this possible. It’s the invisible infrastructure that makes NASA’s entire Mars strategy possible.
But why does Mars matter and why do we need to talk to it?
1. Without communications, Mars missions simply don’t work
NASA’s Mars missions have transformed humanity’s understanding of the Red Planet. Orbiters have mapped its surface in extraordinary detail. Rovers have found evidence of ancient lakes and rivers. The next generation of missions will go even further, including returning samples to Earth and paving the way for humans to live and work on Mars.
But spacecraft and humans at Mars can’t send meaningful data directly back to Earth on their own. Rocket Lab’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter will be a vital relay, ensuring discoveries, images, and scientific breakthroughs actually make it home.
2. It protects billions of dollars already invested in Mars
Taxpayers have funded decades of NASA Mars missions that have delivered globally significant Mars findings. The current Mars Relay Network that these missions rely on is fragile, aging, and limited. The recent loss of contact with the MAVEN is testament that time is running out to establish new and reliable communications at Mars. Without reliable communications, the flow of data from existing spacecraft at Mars could simply dry up. MTO ensures their continuity.
3. It multiplies the value of every Mars mission
Rocket Lab’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter would support dozens of spacecraft, today and into the future, dramatically increasing how much science and value each mission delivers. Just one orbiter makes every Mars mission more powerful.
4. It enables future human missions to Mars
NASA’s long-term Mars exploration strategy goes far beyond landing robots. It’s about enabling sustained exploration and ultimately, human missions. Humans on Mars will need constant communication with Earth for navigation, science operations, safety, coordination, and simple human connection. Reliable communications aren’t optional, they’re essential. Rocket Lab’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter will be the reliable and enduring infrastructure that enables NASA’s human exploration goals at Mars.
5. It keeps America at the forefront of space leadership
Space leadership isn’t just about getting there, it’s about building the enduring infrastructure that makes sustained exploration possible. Throughout history, exploration has depended on infrastructure. Ships enabled ocean crossings. Railroads opened continents. Satellites connected the globe. Communications infrastructure will define the next era of Mars exploration and America needs to be at the forefront. We recognize that the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter is a necessity, not an afterthought. It’s why Rocket Lab proposed an independently launched MTO as part of our Mars Sample Return Architecture.
6. It Commercializes Space Communications
Rocket Lab’s Mars Telecommunications Orbiter directly supports NASA’s SCaN Program’s commitment to transitioning from government-owned communications assets to commercial alternatives. This shift is about creating smarter, more cost-effective systems that ensure mission continuity for national space priorities, while reducing taxpayer costs.
The right mission needs the right builder
A Mars Telecommunications Orbiter isn’t a technology demonstrator. It’s critical infrastructure. It requires deep expertise in spacecraft design, deep space operations, communications systems, and mission integration.
Rocket Lab delivers a rare combination of proven spacecraft, deep space mission experience, reliable launch vehicles, and end-to-end space systems capability as a vertically integrated mission provider.
We delivered NASA’s CAPSTONE mission to the Moon, then followed it up with the ESCAPADE twin spacecraft mission to Mars. These aren’t concepts. They’re real spacecraft, operating in deep space. We designed and built one of the world’s most reliable and frequently launched rockets with 80+ missions completed and counting. Our hardware and software has enabled some of the most ambitious and successful Mars missions in history, including the Mars Insight Lander, Perseverance Rover, and Ingenuity Helicopter. Mars is in our DNA. A Rocket Lab Mars Telecommunications Orbiter also brings a non-Artemis performer into the mix to contribute to a national space objective. Free from lunar commitments, Rocket Lab is laser-focused on rapidly and affordably delivering the most reliable Mars Telecommunications Orbiter to strengthen America’s capability at Mars.
Rocket Lab is Mars tested and MTO ready.