Remote spectroscopy is just as valid as taking samples.
"I would agree, except the findings are being reported along side a call to go to Mars. Not that I'm opposed to exploration, but let's do it for the right reasons, IE. to see what's there, not to pour money into trying to prove the theory of life on Mars."
The major SHORT-TERM importance of the findings means that any exploration can be done far less expensively (fuel for the return trip can be generated on-site instead of having to be carried along, as well as the oxygen needed for the stay). Longer-term, the presence of water means that colonization is possible.