Robots are the perfect way to explore Mars, asteroids, or anywhere else.
Sending humans means 100 X the cost of robots just for the vanity screen shot of a living human in a pressurized space suit planting a flag, and, (hopefully) making it home alive.
For that price, we can send 100 X the number of robots (with the same cameras and sensors) to every planet and asteroid in the solar system.
Total agree. Probes do very well at a much better cost.
There is no way we would be able to teraform Mars with an atmosphere containing oxygen. Mars lacks a magnetic core which creates a global magnetic field that would shield its atmosphere from being blown into space by the Sun’s solar wind and radiation.
They are testing a device called MOXIE that will convert the air available on Mars into oxygen. The device is a test, and if the technology was used on a larger scale could produce oxygen for humans to breathe on the Red Planet and could be used for rocket fuel.
Mars has the advantage of lower gravity which will make it a stepping stone for staging interplanetary vehicles used to fetch resources from places in the solar system. As far as venturing to nearby stars, such ventures will depend on what is found with the new generation of telescopes.