A consequential debate that has been simmering behind closed doors at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, must soon come to a head. What everyone agrees on is that NASA needs a new spacecraft capable of relaying communications from Mars to Earth. NASA’s best communications relay remains the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which has now been there for 20 years. Congress cared enough about this issue to add $700 million in funding for a “Mars Telecommunications Orbiter” in the supplemental funding for NASA provided by the “One Big Beautiful Bill” passed by the US Congress last year. Several observers told Ars the language included here appeared designed to favor Rocket Lab and its proposal for a telecommunications orbiter.