Telemetry from Mars 2020 will be relayed through a pseudo bent-pipe via the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter during entry, descent, and landing, providing the most data through landing.
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been increasingly used as a communications relay supporting spacecraft on the surface of Mars.
NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) in 2005 with a suite of six science instruments including a high-resolution camera.
The 2021 budget request would cut $2,500,000 from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's science budget, bringing the mission to its science floor.
The British-built Beagle 2 lander was flown on ESA’s Mars Express mission and was not heard from after its December 2003 landing, with later NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter images suggesting the spacecraft landed intact but failed to deploy all its solar panels or its communications antenna.
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will provide data with a brief delay after landing, including a first image from the surface taken by the InSight lander.