It’s January 1972.
Having safely glided to a stop on a Martian plateau, this illustration depicts the Operational Phase of the mission. The crew have already inflated their six meter habitat (it’s a tent), assembled the flat-pack steamroller and are shown removing the nuclear reactor so it can be dragged at least a kilometer from base camp so it won’t kill them.
With the reactor at a safe distance, the crew of eight have 479 days to explore the surface of Mars and maybe do a spot of gardening.
You can read more about this fascinating 1960 Boeing Study here.
Boeing Mars Glider at Astronautix
Image credit: Boeing / Chicago Daily News
Image source: Numbers Station
numbers station 