Russian scientists yesterday announced an ambitious project to send a manned mission to Mars by 2009. If realised, it could trump Nasa's bid to put men on the Red Planet - announced by President George W Bush this year - by more than a decade. Managers from Aviacosmicheskie Sistemy, an aerospace company based in Moscow, said their objective could be achieved using existing technology for no more than £2.7 billion, about a fifth of Nasa's projected costs. The company plans to set up a space station beyond the Moon as a staging post for a three-year manned flight to Mars....