What is this mythical "fiasco" exactly?
Yeah, I don't think the Mars project was a "fiasco". I think it was a good project.
But I think the article highlights a serious trend in several science fields which include Space Exploration, Evolution, Genetics, Geology, and Global Warming. And that is the "sensationalizing" of finds and highly dubious finds that are aimed at generating more funding.
It's not that I object to more funding, but the funding should go where it makes sense and not to the people who were best a sensationalizing.