On 1/20/2011 2:58 AM, Jochem Huhmann wrote:

Or to turn that around: Look at a one-way robotic mission that gets the
same mass to Mars as a manned mission needs. Then compare which mission
can do more. You could spray hundreds or thousands of rovers over Mars
for the same mass that a small crew needs just to stumble around in the
dust near their lander for three months and then return.

And the nice thing is, you don't have to worry about getting the rovers
back either; in fact, the longer they stay, the better.
I always thought we should have built more MER's, considering how well
Spirit and Opportunity did and the low cost of the whole program.

Pat