You know, no one loves the Mars Rover expeditions more than me, but I bet if we ever land humans on Mars will discover more in one hour than what took the rovers 20 years to discover. You really do need boots on the ground!
To have boots on the ground requires more than just a minimal infrastructure. Any people going there require a reliable base of operations so they can function as normally as possible in the face of extremely difficult odds.
Hasn't Buzz Aldrin been a tireless advocate of hanging a 'washing line' between earth and Mars to facilitate a two way transport of people and materials?
Curiosity has actually crossed over into Star Trek territory because of those 5 years, even if it is a robot!
