A manned flyby? This mission may tell us something about enroute problems, but if it weren't for this limited role, it serves no purpose better served by robotic craft.<p>Tito could raise more money and garner more public support by planning a two-person, landing, suicide mission instead of looping around Mars and coming back. Consider that his present plan requires the craft to safely re-enter Earth's atmosphere and soft-land. The same could be accomplished on Mars with some modifications, but the latter would create a historical turning point, rather than an orbital turning point.