They expect people to actually survive on that tiny capsule on a trip to Mars?! Does anyone at NASA actually have a brain? You need a much larger ship, adequate crew space, adequate food for the very extended voyage, emergency air supplies, emergency repair parts, etc, etc. This isn’t a 2 week moon voyage, guys.
It's only used on the ride up and back down to Earth. The expedition spacecraft and Mars lander are different.
"Oh, give me land, lots of land under starry skies above, Don't fence me in. Let me ride through the wide open country that I love, Don't . . . don't . . . DON'T!"
The capsule is supposed to ferry crews to and from whatever larger spacecraft that they will build for the mission. It will be like the Apollo capsule used in the Skylab missions.
If I understand NASA’s plans there is a larger lab type vehicle Orion would dock with for the voyage to Mars giving the astronauts more room for the long voyage. To go with this technology they are going to have to launch several vehicles separately and dock in LEO and then go for a TMI.
You need a lab, a command module, essentially an updated S4B to leave Earth and then Mars orbit and of course a lander for Mars, unless you send it in advance and dock in orbit, but if that is a dude better to find out about it in LEO than when you get to Mars I would think.