I guess that's where politics comes into play. The reason NASA etc. are trying to push costs down isn't necessairily because it wouldn't be worth it if it was m

I guess that's where politics comes into play. The reason NASA etc. are trying to push costs down isn't necessairily because it wouldn't be worth it if it was more expensive, it's just that projects that are cheaper have a higher chance of getting funded. Also, the value of going to Mars is still highly speculative. Once we reach it with low-cost, smaller missions, it's going to be less speculative, and the risk/reward profile of sending huge spacecrafts will make them more viable.