NASA and the Russians blew up a lot of rockets and even killed some folks before they started having real success in not blowing up rockets and killing people. Space travel is VERY dangerous, people will die, rockets will blow up.
Goddard had numerous problems….
And with manned space travel the farther you attempt to go the danger gets exponentially greater. The difference between going to the moon and going to mars is not just one of degree but of kind. Going to Mars presents dozens of incredibly difficult and complex issues the moon trip didn’t have to deal with. Despite Elon’s ambitions, right now we don’t have anything close to the reliable technology or space infrastructure necessary to take a man to mars…much less get him back, which is an even more difficult proposition.