First off, you have no idea of the impact hazard. None. Zero. So your estimates of cost effectiveness have no factual basis.

Morrison's low estimate of the cometary impact hazard has been thoroughly discredited by field geologists.

As far as CAPS goes, it was designed by a skilled team of engineers at NASA Langley.
The Chinese engineers appear to think its pretty good.

As far as my owsn skillls go, what I have done as a historian is to compare space architectures. In point of facxt, I inteerviewed many of the Soviet scientists who actually bent metal on manned Mars missions. But since you don't have any respect for that, here's the simple demonstrated facts:

The proper comparison is between Zubrin as an engineer and Musk's engineers, not Zubrin and Musk.
As far as Zubrin's engineering skills go, they're a joke, as anyone who has worked with him actually bending metal will tell you.
His Mars architecture simply will not achieve its goals, as its crew will be dead long before they get to Mars, little less return.
Check his radiation shielding and life support estimates. They're impossibly low.

As far as NASA "adapting" Zubrin's architecture, Griffin's engineering was so bad that he spent $3 billion on the Ares 1, a launcher whose combustion oscillations will leave its crew brain damaged, 100% percent of the time.

The Ares 5 is just as good a design.

Dr. Aldrin favors the DIRECT launch architecture for immediate developmetn, and his cyclers are the best architecture for manned Mars missions.

As far as Musk's engineers go, they have developed the lowest cost launcher, and DoD and NASA contracted with them for services.

Based on your posts, we know that you're a fantasist obsessed with Mars, and that's why none of this ever sinks in. Ever.

The advantage that you have is that I refuse to attack all manned Mars flight. But I do have priorities for the space budget that include manned Mars flight only at a much later date, after other much more pressing matters have been taken care of.

Griffin ignored the George Brown Jr ammendment, and he's gone.

Good riddance.