In article <[log in to unmask]>, [log in to unmask] says...
>
>Here is some interesting information that you might not know about the Mars
>mission.
>
>I had thought that the rocket was launched last December within some window
>that if they had missed it, they would have had to wait until sometime this
>summer to reschedule the launch.  This corresponds to the 7 months
>mentioned in the attached.  However, this does not correspond to the "3
>years" that was mentioned as the time it would take for an individual to
>make a round trip to Mars.
>
>I'm not a "rocket scientist" so I have no idea why a rocket with the lander
>and rover would only take 7 months and a rocket with a couple of
>individuals would take 18 months.  Anyone have any insight on this?
>

I understood the three years included the roundtrip time PLUS the time actually
spent on Mars, which was over a year. The length of the stay is laregly
dependent on how long it takes the marsonauts to distill enough fuel from the
Martian resources to make their trip back to Earth, then waiting around until
the orbits allow a short trip back.
--
Mark Landin
T. D. Williamson, Inc.
UNIX Sys. Admin
"If you take the smooth, you gotta take the rough" -- Rob Halford