Mars Relay Operations Service

The Challenge

MaROS is a NASA platform that manages telecommunications scheduling between Mars surface assets and orbiters. It is the backbone of Mars Relay operations, ensuring rovers can communicate with Earth through orbital relay windows.

When I joined the team, MaROS had existed for years without formal design support. One of the developers had acted as an informal designer, but the interface had become complex and design decisions were driven by their efficiency in development over user needs. I was the first UX designer to work on the system, and my mission was to bring clarity and cohesion to a tool that directly impacted Martian operations.

The Opportunities

In my first audit of the platform, I identified several key friction points and usability issues that could be tackled without compromising operational stability. One of the highest-impact areas was the Forward Link Trigger, a critical feature that allows planning teams to send command files to the rover.

At the time, the workflow was so error-prone that it had recently triggered an ISA (Incident Surprise Audit) after a user unknowingly submitted the same trigger twice. I proposed a complete redesign of this workflow to reduce risk, improve confidence, and better support new mission staff.

The Risks

MaROS is mission-critical. Any changes had to be carefully tested and validated with real operators, and nothing could disrupt the cadence of planning or delay communication with the surface assets. There was also the risk of knowledge loss: turnover is common on long-term space missions, and much of MaROS relied on institutional memory and documentation written by operations teams or MaROS development staff.

To succeed, the new design had to:

• Prevent errors at every step

• Provide clear feedback

• Be intuitive enough for onboarding with minimal training

• Integrate seamlessly with the technical backend

The Solution

I approached the solution like a guided flow, taking cues from clear, step-by-step platforms like TurboTax’s e-file experience and Domino’s visual order tracker. The redesigned tool included:

• A structured multi-step interface to replace a single dense form

• A progress tracker to show exactly what stage the submission was in

• Inline explanations and contextual help for first-time users

• A final review screen for collaborative planning meetings and sign-off

These designs were tested with active rover planning teams throughout the design process. Each iteration incorporated feedback from subject-matter experts working on actual missions.