The "plan" as it stands won't get us to Mars
Here are two viewpoints concerning this:
The "system" knows that it can not directly advocate a manned Mars mission due to political opposition over perceived cost. Therefore it must call for something cheaper and then slowly morph it into a manned Mars mission.
---or---
A manned Mars mission is not on the table. The "plan" is really just a pork barrel exercise with no real goal. Conversation about Mars is only soathing nonsense to placate space exploration advocates.
Gary