if this challenge was meant to be taken seriously If the roadmap contained a clear vision for manned missions to Mars followed by permanent colonization, they

if this challenge was meant to be taken seriously If the roadmap contained a clear vision for manned missions to Mars followed by permanent colonization, they wouldn't even be bothering with public input. It's a PR stunt, with prizes that fit into a PR budget. Note that the announcement says nothing about NASA doing anything with the winning submissions. NASA has done -- and continues to do -- great things with robotic exploration of Mars. But they are hamstrung by politicians: both the ones that hold offices in their organization and the ones on Capitol Hill who hold the purse-strings. The NASA of today doesn't do things today because they are easy, but because they will look cool and funnel money to the right states and congressional districts. Full stop.