Pat Flannery wrote:
The crew would find the whole thing very frustrating as Mars slowly
approaches...and then just as slowly withdraws again, with the long
voyage home again ahead of them

Look, but don't touch; the space exploration equivalent of a strip tease.


Pat,

Here's a good sci-fi angle for you. Say country X mounts a flyby mission.
Aboard are some 1-way surface probes, some are large enough to carry 1 human
if stripped of gear. Unknown to mission control, the patriotic/fanatical
crew decides to choose a volunteer among the group to go. Anyone can withdraw
from consideration. The rest choose straws. If you think about it, might not
be that huge a stretch. Think 'Space Cowboys' for example.

Flags, footprints and mausoleum, all rolled into one!

Dave

PS: So as a corollary, no person capable 1-way probes to be included on any flybys!
PPS: Maybe 'Defying Gravity' is getting to me!