Something else derived from that programme: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manned_Venus_Flyby
Sending men to (or rather past) Venus, in the 1970s![]()
Yeah, I noticed that one.
I suppose the best argument against that is that it would make much more sense to send an unmanned probe - far less risky, you need a smaller rocket, etc.
On the other hand, the case for - if the US had at this time firmly committed to a Mars Programme, in the long term - is that valuable experience of long-term space habitation would be gained.