Mission to Mars

Imagine you’ve just been told that you’ll be a member of the team responsible for the first manned mission to Mars.

Now imagine someone asks you how much the mission’s going to cost. The whole thing. There and back. By close of business on Thursday.

You rock back on your heels a little, stunned by the question.

Because you can’t help it, your mind starts to dart around and make guesses about some of the obvious things perhaps based on half-remembered facts about earlier missio...