NASA has issued a final request for proposals (RFP) on a telecommunications system for Mars (Mars Telecommunications Network — MTN), after confirming the requirements, which limit the range of companies, that can participate in the tender. Offers will be accepted until 15 June 2026 year, and the contract with the selected company is planned to be signed by 1 October.
MTN was created to maintain communications with Mars missions, as the existing orbital repeaters are aging and overloaded with scientific work. The office announced an open competition with strict requirements for compliance with the law on budget reconciliation. The cover letter emphasizes: participants must prove experience of commercial research on the return of Martian samples and the presence of projects of telecommunications orbital vehicles. Eight companies participated in these studies: Blue Origin, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Rocket Lab, SpaceX, Quantum Space та Whittinghill Aerospace. Which developers have added orbital communications devices to their Martian projects, NASA is currently not disclosing. According to available information, Blue Origin and Rocket Lab have been the biggest proponents of a telecommunications orbiter for Mars, publicly discussing their approaches to meeting the agency's communications requirements, and about science.
At the same time, the final request for an offer (RFP) supplemented with plans for the installation of 20-kilogram scientific equipment with dimensions 55 × 55 × 45 cm and energy consumption 60 W. In early May, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp announced on social media, that the company's Mars Telecommunications Orbiter, based on the existing Blue Ring apparatus, satisfies the urgent need for communication, navigation and relaying, and can also deliver to 500 kg of scientific instruments to Mars.
Source: https://spacenews.com