 How long was the author away from earth on this trip?
THE DOPE on Mars By JACK SHARKEY Somebody had to get the human angle on this trip ... but what was humane about sending me? Illustrated by WOOD My agent was the one who got me the job of going along to write up the first trip to Mars. He was always getting me things like that—appearances on TV shows, or mentions in writers' magazines. "It'll be the biggest break a writer ever got," he told me, two days before blastoff. "But, Louie," I said weakly, "I'll probably be locked up for the whole trip. If there are fights or accidents, they won't tell me about them." "Nonsense," said Louie, sipping carefully at a paper cup of scalding coffee. "It'll be just like the public going along vicariously. "But, Louie," I said, wiping the dampness from my palms on the knees of my trousers as I sat there, "how'll I go about it? A you-are-there type of report? "So keep a diary. So I went on the first trip to Mars. October 1, 1960 They picked the launching date from the March, 1959, New York Times , which stated that this was the most likely time for launching. Trip time is supposed to take 260 days (that's one way), so we're aimed toward where Mars will be (had better be, or else). There are five of us on board. A pilot, co-pilot, navigator and biochemist. I've met all but the pilot (he's very busy today), and they seem friendly enough. Dwight Kroger, the biochemist, is rather old to take the "rigors of the journey," as he puts it, but the government had a choice between sending a green scientist who could stand the trip or an accomplished man who would probably not survive, so they picked Kroger. We've blasted off, though, and he's still with us.
 17 months
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