Congress has Mars in its eyes. In the wake of a hearing last week, the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology has asked NASA to consider a crewed fly-by of the Red Planet in 2021. The venture's funding and feasibility remain vague, however, and NASA's 2015 budget plan, released today, maintains that an asteroid will be the first destination for astronauts riding the agency's next-generation space capsule. The Mars fly-by proposal is built on plans for a privately funded mission laid out by Inspiration MarsMovie Camera, a non-profit endeavour formed by multimillionaire Dennis Tito. Barely a year after...