>>>Right, no other society is doing that<<<

Not in quite the pro-big-government way that the NASA Ames civil service union expects the Mars Institute to behave in exchange for favors performed regarding Devon Island escapades conducted at least partially at taxpayers' expense last Summer. Dr. Zubrin's book The Case for Mars dedicates numerous pages to the pro-entrepreneurial concept of a tax-subsidized Mars Prize, thereby making bureaucrats far less indispensable. We'll see just how much attention the Mars Institute pays (or predictably doesn't pay) to the concept of Mars prizes now. ;-0

For more details on the numerous conflicts of interest between the SpaceRef / Mars Institute clique and the NASA way of "doing" things that the NASAWatch.COM crew is supposedly watching over for us, feel free to check out:

http://www.spaceprojects.com/devon

Having said that, if the Mars Institute can actually get something done that other organizations can't, then even I would eventually donate money to them! I'm far from optimistic though, based on the convenient coverage gaps and abrasiveness to pro-entrepreneurial reforms that we've consistently seen emanate from Mr. Cowing's cubicle.