First, the cost of bring peace, freedom and the American way to Iraq, the legacy of George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condaleeza Rice.

“The U.S. war in Iraq has cost $1.7 trillion with an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans, expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest, a study released on Thursday said.”  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-war-anniversary-idUSBRE92D0PG20130314

Now, a celebrated group of knowledgeable folks estimate the cost of getting to Mars.  Even if they are wrong by a factor of 10 (ten) it’s half the cost of Iraq.  But we have the satisfaction of bring peace, freedom and the American way to an oppressed population beset by civil war, religious wars, and foreign wars.

“The expert panel puts the total cost of a 20-year program culminating in a manned mission to Mars in the range of $80 to $100 billion. NASA already spends around $4 billion a year on exploration programs; most of that is devoted to developing the Orion spacecraft and a new rocket that would one day carry astronauts to Mars or other deep-space destinations. The agency spends nearly $4 billion more on operating the International Space Station in low Earth orbit.” http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140422-mars-mission-manned-cost-science-space/