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> We need to go to Mars at least three times and bring back the men and women successfully.

First we'd need to find a way to bring back pretty much anything else successfully, no?

The first is an easy problem to solve, compared to pretty much every other issue. More space (or better space) is a non-linear issue.

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Unless you're envisioning spacecraft with literally hundreds of astronauts, the first will be anything but easy to solve. Doesn't help having an awesome spaceship if everyone on board goes batshit crazy after six months.

Bubbleheads are tested in Submarine School for compatibility with the idea of living in the intellectual equivalent of a sewer pipe for months on end with each other. I'd assume NASA would do the same. End of the day make sure you know who holds the keys to the weapons locker.

Why do we need to bring them back? Pioneers don't normally set off with a guarantee or even likelihood of coming back.

If in 1500 you dropped some European settlers in the Americas, there a high chance they'll survive. If in 2014 you drop some settlers in Mars, they would surely die.

Plenty of robots must be sent beforehand to build greenhouses, setup solar panel arrays, dig deep tunnels to provide shielding against cosmic radiation, etc.

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