The Pilgims and pioneers didn’t make a solo trip, didn’t view what they were doing as a suicide mission, and weren’t doing it just for the experience. Apples and oranges.
No one’s talking about a suicide mission to Mars; they’re talking about one man going first and setting up housekeeping for an extended period before other settlers arrive.
But they are indeed talking about no return trips for a very long time.
This is just how America was settled—google the coureurs du bois, for instance.