Nice try! Dear Red, you almost qualify As viable, but no, you’re oh-for-air And all your proto-oceans are bone-dry; It’s hardly worth the hassle getting there. It’s true you have a photogenic hill, Your grand Olympus Mons, round as it’s high, And rosy desert canyonlands, but still, To brave the nine-month flight, we wonder why. Too bad! What if the solar winds had not Sheared off your atmosphere, what if the beams Were warm enough to thaw your polar ice? You might have made a nice vacation spot With purple-fruited plains and mountain streams. A big What If. But after all, no dice. —Henry Rathvon
Henry, excellent exposition of the uselessness of going to Mars with manned missions. And the illustration brings that home even stronger. The rover shown and many others, including a small helicopter, have done tremendous scientific exploration at much lower cost than would obtain for any manned mission..