re: Is Mars still THE goal?
The search for little green men isn't the only reason to go there, even without life it's still an interesting world scientifically. On top of that it's got all the ingredients to support life, they just need mixing up the right way! That makes it interesting. Even a totally barren mars holds the promise of supporting life in the future and a lot of people would like to see that happen. Maybe mars exploration will take a backseat for a while but I hope it isn't abandoned.