This article is pretty useless IMO. It lays out all of the challenges for going to Mars and doesn't mention once the many research programs that have been going on for years to tackle most (if not all) of these issues.

This pessimism of the target timeline seems to be based on the assumption we can't solve problems we already have been working on solving. Considering it took about 12 years to fully develop the Apollo program (from funding to moon landing), I'm pretty hopeful about a 15 year or so window for Mars with today's technology and resources, given we already started years ago.

> Keep in mind, the Saturn V took ~$40 Billion to build in today’s dollars and took us ~1/600th the distance.

I'm tempted to stop here. Astronautical navigation in not a matter of distance, but of ΔV.

The one saying it's impossible should stay out of the way of the one doing it.