Mars 2022 – Spaceflight Now

May 30, 2026

Breaking News

[ May 30, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 50th Starlink mission of 2026 Falcon 9
[ May 29, 2026 ] ULA launches 29 Amazon Leo satellites on Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Atlas 5
[ May 29, 2026 ] Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes during prelaunch testing at Cape Canaveral Mission Reports
[ May 29, 2026 ] SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ May 27, 2026 ] FAA requires SpaceX-led mishap investigation before resumption of Starship launches Mission Reports

NASA developing plans for commercially-built Mars orbiter

July 27, 2016 Stephen Clark

NASA is advancing a plan to send a robotic orbiter to Mars in the early 2020s, developing designs with five U.S. satellite makers for a mission to extend high-resolution mapping capabilities, telecommunications relay functions, and potentially act as a waypoint for Martian soil samples destined for return to Earth.

NASA eyes ion engines for Mars orbiter launching in 2022

March 3, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA officials want the agency’s next Mars orbiter to pull double duty as a communications relay station for a fleet of surface landers and as a trailblazer for a future round-trip sample return mission and human expeditions to the red planet.