John Doe wrote:

And I am not convinced that a capsule would be the best way to land on
mars.

Well, I think the giant glider with the religious maniac piloting it is
right out.
On the other hand, the Eleanor M.'s descent capsules did not function
perfectly either, although the fatal landing of Col. Daniel "Mac"
McCready may well have been due to the monkey urinating onto the control
panel in fright.

They will some vehicle to land properly so it can launch from mars
and rejoin the expedition ship. That vehicle might has well be carrying
the crew down as well. And such a vehicle would be quite different from
an apollo capsule.



Actually the early 60's Mars landing capsule used on ROMBUS Deimos
Project was a dead ringer for a giant Apollo capsule:
http://www.abo.fi/~mlindroo/SpaceLVs/Slides/sld010.htm

This is not to say that the mars expedition ship might not be carrying a
CEV as an emergency escape pod.



No, for that you need these: http://www.astronautix.com/craft/1crgterm.htm
Each will be equipped with a X-Box 360 to keep the crewman sane on his
long float back to Earth.

Pat