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Simply put, the development of Human outposts and colonies on Mars is a small part of a larger strategy for spacefaring Humans which is mandatory for the survival of the Human race. It is only an unknown matter of time, short term or long term as chance permits, before Humans and much of the fauna and flora become extinct on the Earth due to the impact of a large asteroid or other global cataclysm/s. The most easily exploitable non-renewable mineral and energy resources of the Earth have been consumed to build the current state of technologies capable of embarking on the human colonization of extraterrestrial habitats. If this present Human culture were to be destroyed in a cataclysm, there will never again be enough such resources on the Earth to rebuild another culture capable of embarking on the extraterrestrial colonization efforts required to avoid inevitable extinction. If the Human race successfully colonizes the asteroids, Kuiper Belt Objects (KBO), moons, and Mars, then the Human race has an opportunity to survive indefinitely, in many tens of billions in population, and long after Human and many other living species become extinct as the result of global cataclysms on the Earth.

"The most easily exploitable non-renewable mineral and energy resources of the Earth have been consumed to build the current state of technologies capable of embarking on the human colonization of extraterrestrial habitats."

All that is "consumed" really continues to exist and can be reconstituted and used again. But yes, there are higher costs that would be more acceptable to smaller production efforts only in the absence of broad monopolies.

As for a sizable enough asteroid destroying all life on earth, the chances are unimaginably remote. Preparations for such an event would also be feasible (shelters, etc.).

Scarcity is artificial--manufactured by monopolies and their regulations against new, domestic competition in each country. Contrary to the proclamations of the debt regime, there is plenty of earth, water and air. Too many products are designed to degrade too quickly and make repairs difficult. Recycling is too often avoided because of costs that would make a global monster of manufacturing less competitive.

A much more distributed economy with open source equipment designs and far fewer regulations against new competition would be more conducive to economic security and avoidance of material waste.

So far, though, some of the more visible efforts for open source equipment designs are aimed at engineers who are not competent as technicians (ongoing intern and administrator failures for lack of technical skills), and plans are to have contemporary local, bosses in government-linked services as owners of community manufacturing efforts (even more likely failures in both skills and management). The current debt regime may not preserve its rule.

The more successful open source equipment collaboration projects, from radios to transportation, are very informal and conducted by many technicians and a few engineering technologists (mostly not licensed professional engineers) without formal leadership.