[Monkey Face]

LOL!

I suspect we'll be on "autopilot" for now, huh?

Be safe! And watch out for the other guy!

[NicknamedBob]

One advantage of space travel is that the cruise control is automatic. Unless you change something, you just drift along on whatever course you're on.

Right now, we're getting ready to do another "sling-shot" maneuver around the Moon. Earth might be preferable, for having a higher mass, but it has way too many satellites for a close flyby.

Swinging around the Moon will not only increase our overall speed, it will also align us on the proper trajectory toward where Mars isn't.

We don't want to aim for where Mars is, because by the time we get there, it will have moved. We have to direct ourselves to that point in space where Mars is going to be when we get there.

Lead distance, you know. Like shooting at ducks -- sixty million miles away.