Virgin Orbit plans to send its own satellites to Mars in 2022

Virgin Orbit has partnered with SatRevolution and a dozen Polish universities to develop small satellites to explore Mars.

It is a division of the aerospace company Virgin.Richard Branson's Galactic specializes in the design and construction of small orbital vehicles. Following the recent success of NASA's InSight mission, it was decided to organize something similar using 50-kilogram satellites that would be launched into outer space by the LauncherOne rocket.

Upon arrival on Mars, the devices will be able to take pictures, studyatmosphere or search for water.According to Will Pomerantz, vice president of special projects at Virgin Orbit, in the future these satellites could also be sent to study Venus and objects in the asteroid belt.

However, to implement an ambitious plan,companies will first need to complete LauncherOne missile tests. From the success of the air launch and flight will depend on the timing of sending satellites to Mars.

If everything goes according to plan, then in 2022 the first private mission to the Red Planet will take place.

While private companies are taking their first steps in thisdirection, national space agencies are developing a new generation of research vehicles. In March, NASA successfully tested the first Martian helicopter.

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