Considering that people like Musk want to finance it commercially (yes, really), this point may be moot; however... The technology involved in going to mars wi

Considering that people like Musk want to finance it commercially (yes, really), this point may be moot; however... The technology involved in going to mars will significantly advance (and cheapen) several areas that would otherwise be ignored. Currently we see SpaceX developing cost-saving technology such as landing rocket boosters and ramping up mass production. In order to live on mars we would need specialized farming equipment, chemistry equipment, robots, interstellar transportation and communication, knowledge on how to terraform at a massive scale and so on. It would be a boon to numerous commercial interests and likely pay for itself and then some.