Why bother spending all this money exploring space and finding out there was water on Mars at some point in the last few thousand years (we have water in Earth) when these same great minds could be applied to finding better ways to power humanity's insatiable desire for energy, to feeding the starving millions around the globe, and generally making life down here better before looking up into the heavens. It seems the authoritative powers have their heads way, way up in the clouds.

The needs of humanity should always come first. While there are people on Earth who need help, they should be helped, rather than seeing money spent on sending robots onto other planets. Humanity is the number one priority; keeping the human race alive is a necessity. Alternatively, space exploration is a desire. If we put our desires before our needs, then everyone loses out on a better standard of living.
Also, why take so much time and money to learn about Mars or any other planet, when we know so little about our own.