[Vaquero]

this is a flyby. it is scheduled for 2018 as this is the closest that Mars and Earth will be till the 2030s

this will be a self contained (enough supplies on board and reusing water)tour of Mars, with no orbit, but a slingshot around mars back to the earth so the trip will only last 1 year.

[Rebel_Ace]

If it is just a flyby, then I fail to see any real value. Machines can gather more info from orbit than two people peering out the porthole while screaming by one time at 25000 miles per hour. I think the general population will not be impressed with a mission that cannot produce better photos than Curiosity can, and won't bring back samples.

Now, if this is a shakedown of an Earth-Mars vehicle that is left in Earth orbit after this mission, to be used on a future flight, we might be talkin'.