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This paper addresses deep-space communication challenges of intermittent connectivity and storage constraints by proposing a goal-oriented reinforcement learning framework for relay-side bundle and flow management. Leveraging a novel excess age metric to quantify information freshness and define a mission-relevant loss, the system optimizes bundle scheduling and dropping decisions as a constrained semi-Markov decision process. Solved via masked Lagrangian PPO with feasibility-aware action masking, the approach demonstrably improves age-based utility and inter-flow fairness over conventional schedulers.
Deep-space relays can achieve superior information freshness and fairness by jointly optimizing bundle scheduling, dropping, and flow control using a masked Lagrangian PPO that prioritizes mission-critical data.
Deep-space communications operate under intermittent connectivity, long propagation delays, and relay storage constraints. In such networks, the Bundle Protocol enables store-carry-forward communication, requiring relay nodes to manage limited storage and scarce contact opportunities. Relay-side scheduling and dropping decisions are inherently goal-oriented: transmission resources should be allocated to bundles most valuable to downstream mission objectives. Conventional schedulers, such as FIFO, do not explicitly optimize task utility and may provide unfair service across heterogeneous planetary sources. This paper presents a closed-loop modeling and learning framework for relay-side bundle and flow management in a contact-driven deep-space network, where lunar and Martian updates are forwarded through a shared-buffer relay to Earth. We quantify destination-side information freshness using excess age $\Delta_i^e(t)=[\Delta_i(t)-d_i(t)]^+$, where $\Delta_i(t)$ denotes the Age of Information of source $i$ and $d_i(t)$ is a source-dependent delay baseline. Based on this metric, we define a goal-oriented loss that supports source-dependent nonlinear penalties, allowing prioritization according to mission relevance. We formulate relay control as a constrained semi-Markov decision process (CSMDP) and solve it using masked Lagrangian Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). Feasibility-aware action masking restricts transmissions to bundles that can complete within the remaining contact window. DTNSim simulations indicate improved age-based utility and inter-flow fairness compared with baseline schedulers. The proposed framework jointly optimizes relay-side bundle scheduling, dropping, and flow control under contact-driven dynamics with explicit fairness considerations across heterogeneous sources.