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In the past decade, an evolving network of Mars relay orbiters has provided telecommunication relay services to the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, and to the Mars Phoenix Lander, enabling high-bandwidth, energy-efficient data transfer and greatly increasing the volume of science data that can be returned from the Martian surface, compared to conventional direct-to-Earth links. The current relay network, consisting of NASA's Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and augmented by ESA's Mars Express Orbiter, stands ready to support the Mars Science Laboratory, scheduled to arrive at Mars on Aug 6, 2012, with new capabilities enabled by the Electra and Electra-Lite transceivers carried by MRO and MSL, respectively. The MAVEN orbiter, planned for launch in 2013, and the ExoMars/Trace Gas Orbiter, planned for launch in 2016, will replenish the on-orbit relay network as the current orbiter approach their end of life. Currently planned support scenarios for this future relay network include an ESA EDL Demonstrator Module deployed by the 2016 ExoMars/TGO orbiter, and the 2018 NASA/ESA Joint Rover, representing the first step in a multimission Mars Sample Return campaign.

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A compact set of tools have evolved for engineering analysis of Mars UHF relay telecommunications performance at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The tools model all telecom variables from the RF layer up through the protocol link layer. The tools can solve for point solutions, analyze dynamic performance based on link geometry and can generate a variety of multi-day performance statistics. The telecom parameters and models in the tool set have been derived from or vetted against laboratory and Mars in-situ telecom performance measurements.The tool set and underlying models feed forward into mission specific flight operations software tools, proving to be invaluable for UHF telecom systems engineering analysis at all phases of mission life cycles.