While reading Harris' book for about the fifth time I came across this bit and thought it might answer a few questions about the "space program" in general and Mars and spacesuits specifically... During the mid sixties there was a "flood" of money put into every conceivable spacesuit design. Those designs and concept that had well existed the Apollo era received the most funding. Thus Webb's Space Activity Suit (MCP suit) was barely funded with only a few feasibility test done on a full suit. Most of the problems with the suit were left unsolved.

Some of the men and women who were the parents of this cacophonic creative burst, during the 1960s, are now deceased. These individuals gave much of their lives to seeing their dreams reach fruition. Sadly, many saw the hopes for their creations dashed by politics, personal intrigue, the mysteries of the NASA procurement system, and government financial chaos, created by a short-sighted President, Congress, and American public. Most of these men and women passionately believed in the concepts they advocated, at times almost to the point of being blind to the weakness of their own ideas and
strengths of their competitors.

In light of the above paragraph, I recently asked a member of NASA why many promising space suit technologies, that emerged during the lunar decade, had not been allowed to follow their logical evolution in the space program. He replied:

For starters, you have to understand that there never really was a space program. The term "program" denotes a sense of direction, a long-term plan if you will. There never was a long-term plan. If Congress gives you money on a yearly basis and presidents and administrators use you for whatever political gain they can garner from your existence, then long-term technical
evolution is not possible. Decisions that NASA administrators make are often the direct result of political expediencies. The shuttle is an excellent example. It was what is called a sustainer program, something that will keep the troops employed. Of course, we thought the shuttle would live up to its expectations; nevertheless, the decision to build it had as much to do with
politics as space exploration.