Polish scientists are developing a first-of-its-kind cubesat mission to Mars that could launch as early as 2022. The Poland-based satellite company SatRevolution, researchers from multiple Polish universities, and Richard Branson's launch company Virgin Orbit have formed a consortium that aims to send a tiny spacecraft to the Red Planet in the next few years.
The consortium is working to follow in the footsteps of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s MarCO mission from 2018, which saw two smaller satellites successfully launched to Mars.
The group’s early studies have suggested that even satellites as small as 50 kg (around 110 lbs), or potentially even smaller, can provide meaningful and useful research, including imagery collection, from both Mars and its orbiting body, Phobos. These satellites could provide key info about the atmospheric composition of Mars, or even scouting for underground water, Virgin Orbit says.
On other hand, irgin Orbit is aiming to have its first orbital rocket launch later this year, and is currently going through the final round of testing before that happens. The company ran a successful drop test earlier this year, during which it let a non-functional rocket fall from the wing of the 747 launcher aircraft in a key test and it has been signing contracts to launch from the U.K. as early as next year.
Cubesats to Mars in 2022
The mission will follow in the footsteps of NASA's twin MarCO (Mars Cube One) craft, the first-ever interplanetary cubesats. Those briefcase-sized probes flew by Mars in November 2018, beaming home data about the touchdown of the agency's InSight lander. But the Polish effort will break new ground with its commercial component, project team members reported.
Meanwhile, SatRevolution co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Grzegorz Zwoliński announced in a statement on Oct. 9, that the project will accelerate the development of small satellites and of lightweight space science instrument technology.
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