NASA’s traffic control system for interplanetary spacecraft is bracing for a flurry of activity in deep space. “We’re getting ready for a crunch period beginning in November 2003,” said Rich Miller, head of planning and commitments at JPL. That’s when the U.S., Europe and Japan all will have missions arriving at Mars. These include NASA’s 2003 Mars Exploration Rovers, the ESA Mars Express Mission, and the Japanese Nozomi spacecraft. And, of course, other ongoing missions will have continuing communications needs.