Asteroids are divided into different groups such as Apollo, Aten, or Amor, based on the type of orbit they have.

BBC: Russia meteor's origin tracked down

Some space experts have said that any manned Mars mission using existing rockets probably would need to have a capsule dock with some type of booster in orbit.

WSJ: First Space Tourist to Outline Trip to Mars

With all three vehicles, Arianespace, the company that runs Kourou, will now be able to offer satellite operators a ride for any type of spacecraft to all kinds of orbit - from the low, pole-crossing orbits used by Earth observation missions, to the high, geostationary locations favoured by big telecommunications platforms.

BBC: Vega rocket set for maiden voyage