Rather, the main benefit would lie in the technological advances made in order to enable such a Mars mission in the first place (similar to advances during Apollo).
I agree with this view, but the comment I was replying to only mentioned as a benefit that Mars could be a second home (which I find rather ridiculous).
The first and second sentences of that comment literally say
> A Mars mission would benefit humanity, but less directly. The past lunar missions and space program benefited humanity in many ways.
And then it goes on to acknowledge the "second home" element, but only as a small consideration.