Oh, I think you know, John, that I am absolutely opposed to the forced "spending of billions" for such a task... Robbery, no matter if prettied up by calling it "taxation" or "your fair share," is an utterly evil way to fund such efforts, even those performed by machines.

What I'm talking about is voluntary.

More to the point, no machine can see for me or experience for me, much as I may enjoy poring over the pictures they send back. I might as well be a brain in a box, unable to touch, feel, or smell...

And you can rest assured I'll not be holding a gun to your head to make you pay for my trip to Mars... ;) It shall be my billions, and my risk, all engaged in under my own volition.

Have you ever read C.S. Lewis' "Out of the Silent Planet?" The first in his "space trilogy," highly recommended. That is the flavor of the human adventure I crave. I will of course invite you to come along, but I will not compel you. ;)