Balloon designs for possible planetary missions have involved a few unusual concepts.

Engineers were told to use spare parts from other planetary missions.

STS-30 was the first American planetary mission in 11 years.

This was the first planetary mission to use precision landing techniques.

Equivalently, lunar and planetary missions have failed on average 30 or 40 percent of the time.

This will allow Japan to carry out its first planetary mission, he said, in the mid-1990's.

He would pick the guards for the planetary missions.

You know, I can't remember the last time we had good food on a planetary mission.

Also study the Life Support for long duration planetary missions.

It will be the first launching of an American planetary mission since 1978.