The very fact that robotic missions are becoming ever-more capable, as you note in your article, means that the foolish idea of sending fragile humans into entirely unsuitable environments becomes more and more absurd. The notion that "we'll become an interplanetary species" ignores biology and ignores the massive unnecessary risks. We can achieve so much more, at a fraction of the cost, with robotics. The "humans in space" thing is a consequence of too many people being entirely unable to distinguish between Star Trek and reality. Mars is never anywhere we ought to be sending people under any circumstances, even if they are delusional paper billionaires.