Mars Telecommunications Orbiter

{{Short description|Cancelled Mars mission}}

{{infobox spaceflight

| name = Mars Telecommunications Orbiter

| image = PIA07500.jpg

| operator = NASA

| launch_contractor = JPL

| mission_type = Planetary science, Mars exploration

| launch_date = Launch planned

| launch_rocket = Atlas V(401) or a Delta-4M.

| website = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050924232548/http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/future/mto.html |date=September 24, 2005 |title=JPL's MTO web page }}

| orbit_semimajor = 5,000 km (3,106.9 mi)

| instruments_list = * Optical Communications Payload: - demonstrate laser communication in space

• Narrow Angle Camera:- Support canister detection
• Orbiting Sample Demonstration Canister: - Technology demonstration

}}

The Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) was initially a cancelled Mars mission that was originally intended to launch in 2009 and would have established an Interplanetary Internet between Earth and Mars.{{cite web|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2014/38660 |title=End-to-End Information System Concept for the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter |date=March 2006 |publisher=NASA JPL |hdl=2014/38660 |last1=Breidenthal |first1=Julian C.|last2=Edwards|first2=Charles D.|last3=Greenberg|first3=Edwards|last4=Kazz|first4=Greg J.|last5=Noreen|first5=Gary K.}}[http://www.space.com/spacenews/businessmonday_041115.html NASA To Test Laser Communications With Mars Spacecraft]; By Brian Berger, Space News, 25 May 2005. The spacecraft would have arrived in a high orbit above Mars in 2010 and relayed data packets to Earth from a variety of Mars landers, rovers and orbiters for as long as ten years, at an extremely high data rate. Such a dedicated communications satellite was thought to be necessary due to the vast quantity of scientific information to be sent to Earth by landers such as the Mars Science Laboratory.{{cite news|title=NASA Mars Telecom Orbiter Axed As Space Agency Priorities Shift|first=Brian |last=Berger|date=July 25, 2005|url=https://spacenews.com/nasa-mars-telecom-orbiter-axed-space-agency-priorities-shift/|publisher=Space News|access-date=January 29, 2023}}

On July 21, 2005, it was announced that MTO had been canceled due to the need to support other short-term goals, including a Hubble servicing mission, Mars Exploration Rover extended mission operations, launching Mars Science Laboratory in 2009, and to prevent Earth science mission Glory from being cancelled.[http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=17424 Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives July 15, 2005 | SpaceRef]

The initial Mars Telecommunications Orbiter would have carried a Mars Laser Communication Demonstration to demonstrate laser communication in space (optical communications), instead of usual radiowaves. "Lasercom sends information using beams of light and optical elements, such as telescopes and optical amplifiers, rather than RF signals, amplifiers, and antennas."{{cite web| author=Townes, Stephen A.| title=The Mars Laser Communication Demonstration| url=http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/38024/1/04-0216.pdf| access-date=April 28, 2008| display-authors=etal| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227080653/http://trs-new.jpl.nasa.gov/dspace/bitstream/2014/38024/1/04-0216.pdf| archive-date=February 27, 2009}}

The original MTO would have had two 15 W X-band radio transmitters, and two Ka-band radio transmitters (35 W operational, and 100 W experimental).

After the cancellation, a broader mission was proposed as the Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter.{{cite web|title=NASA MEPAG: Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter (DRAFT)|url=http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=20324|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120905125159/http://www.marstoday.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=20324|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-05|author=NASA|date=March 2006}} However, this mission was soon criticized as lacking well-defined parameters and objectives.{{cite book | url=http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11717&page=1 | author=National Research Council| title=Assessment of NASA's Mars Architecture 2007-2016 | year=2006 | doi=10.17226/11717| isbn=978-0-309-10273-5}} Another mission, the 2013 Mars Science Orbiter, had also been proposed, though it would never be carried out.{{cite conference |title=Mars Science Orbiter |url=http://mepag.nasa.gov/reports/MSO_SAG_report_071006.pdf |conference=MEPAG |year=2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031619/http://mepag.nasa.gov/reports/MSO_SAG_report_071006.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-05 }}

The communications capability provided by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Express science missions has proven substantial, demonstrating that dedicated relay satellites may be unnecessary in the near future. The two newest science orbiters are the MAVEN, which arrived to Mars on September 21, 2014 with an Electra transceiver; and the 2016 European ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, that also carries an Electra UHF band transceiver.{{cite web |url=http://exploration.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=46475 |title=ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) |publisher=European Space Agency |date=12 July 2012 |access-date=8 March 2014}} However, these orbiters follow science orbits that are not designed for relay communications.

In 2014, there was a concern in NASA that the currently used relay satellite, Mars Odyssey, may fail, resulting in the need to press MAVEN science orbiter into use as the backup telecommunications relay,{{cite news |publisher= Space News |url= http://spacenews.com/nasa-eyes-new-mars-orbiter-for-2022/ |title= NASA Eyes New Mars Orbiter for 2022 |author= Dan Leone |date= 24 February 2015 }} however, the highly elliptical orbit of MAVEN would limit its usefulness as a relay for operating landers on the surface.{{cite news |last=Stephen |first=Clark |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1407/27marstelecom/#.VCHv_Wd0x4s |title=NASA considers commercial telecom satellites at Mars |work=Space Flight Now |date=July 27, 2014 |access-date=2014-09-23 |quote= It is due to arrive at Mars in September, but MAVEN's planned orbit is not ideal for collecting and sending rover data. }}[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4370 Newest NASA Mars Orbiter Demonstrates Relay Prowess]. November 10, 2014.

In 2018, a Next Mars Orbiter (NeMO) was proposed by NASA. NeMO is to be a dedicated telecommunications orbiter with a robust science package,{{cite news |last=Stephen |first=Clark |url=http://spaceflightnow.com/2015/03/03/nasa-eyes-ion-engines-for-mars-orbiter-launching-in-2022/ |title=NASA eyes ion engines for Mars orbiter launching in 2022 |work=Space Flight Now |date=March 3, 2015 |access-date=2015-03-07}}{{cite news |last=Leone |first=Dan |url=http://spacenews.com/nasa-eyes-new-mars-orbiter-for-2022/ |title= NASA Eyes New Mars Orbiter for 2022 |work=Space News |location=Washington, DC |date=February 24, 2015 |access-date=2015-03-08 }} which was expected to launch in 2022.{{cite news |url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2018/04/09/nasa-is-counting-on-long-lived-mars-orbiter-lasting-another-decade/ |title=NASA is counting on long-lived Mars orbiter lasting another decade |work=Spaceflight Now |first=Stephen |last=Clark |date=April 9, 2018 |access-date=April 22, 2018}} It was anticipated to employ a laser communication subsystem, that was successfully tested aboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission in 2013. This project is currently on hiatus as of 2025.[https://web.archive.org/web/20100329231345/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LADEE/main/ LADEE]

On July 4, 2025 (nearly twenty years after the project had initially been cancelled), the MTO mission was revived following the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act by U.S. President Donald Trump. The Trump administration has allocated $700 million for the development of a new MTO, which will be dually-used for both a Mars Sample Return mission and future manned Mars missions.{{cite web |title=This evening, the Senate Commerce Committee released the Senate version of the reconciliation bill, which includes money to fully fund Gateway, as well as funding for both SLS and Orion for the Artemis 4 and 5 missions. Also, $1.25 billion for the ISS. |url=https://x.com/SpaceflightNow/status/1930751772131201114?t=u_6NpMpGlp3XWk5JrVcAWg&s=19 |access-date=6 June 2025 |work=X (Spaceflight Now)}}

• Laser space communication
• {{annotated link|Laser Communications Relay Demonstration}}
• {{annotated link|Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science}} (OPALS)
• {{annotated link|Deep Space Optical Communications}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Mars spacecraft}}

Category:Missions to Mars

Category:Proposed NASA space probes

Category:Cancelled spacecraft

Category:Laser communication in space