Of course there will be failures at first. There will be failures after it's become routine for 100 years. Man has been flying for 100 years and there are still major disasters, killing hundreds of people, every year. And these people aren't explorers and scientists who accept the risk of adventure, they are garden-variety folks who just want to get to Aunt Martha's for Thanksgiving. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. A defeatest attitude just has no place in manned space exploration. This country grew to greatness on a huge public rush to explore the great American west. It spanned generations. The exploration of the solar system should be approached with that same over-arching enthusiasm. But you have to start somewhere. The moon is a good start, but a few Mars missions would actually help spur the lunar occupational effort. Most of the associated costs of manned Mars missions are developmental. Duplicating the hardware for multiple missions would be very cost-effective once the first was completed. And again, as Kim points out, the money is there if we re-apportion just a fraction of what this planet spends on it's collective military institutions. Japanese society is known for undertaking public works projects with 100-year timelines. We would be well served to learn from their example. As long as American culture is locked into the entitlement mindset of "I want it now, and vote the bums out who don't accommodate me", we will continue to decline. It happened to ancient Rome, and it's happening to us. We are the next Great Brittain unless we wake up quickly.