Robots are good.....as forerunners. But a human crew could have covered all the explorations of Mars that have occurred over the years in the space of weeks. And they could have done onsite analysis and decision making that could have led to much more data gathered in that short time. Plus the amount of applied science and rollover applications that come about during the next manned step into space would be incredible. People never bother to actually think about what exists now that would not, or would be so crude as to be no more than a toy if we hadn't gone to the moon.

For instance:

The hydrogen fuel cells they are working on for transportation are directly from the space program. That includes the fuel cells they are getting ready to field to run laptops on off the shelf butane canisters.

The materials sciences that makes structures like those humongous wind turbines possible.

And the list is literally too long to get into now. The space program is the only government program that has paid for itself in created jobs and industry, and it has done so at a rate of return that Wall Street can only wet dream about. And that push 40 years ago is still producing jobs in subsidiary and teriary ways.

Want to actually help the education infrastructure? Commit to a 15 year plan to go to Mars.....and not with a throwaway vehicle. Build and honest to God space =ship=. Take all we've learned since Mercury first lifted off, a build a vehicle intended to go from planet to planet and never land. Have a dedicated ships crew, and a separate sciences and landing crew section. Put scaled down machine shops on board so that repairs can be made underway. The structure in no real issue; it could be built in sections and assembled in orbit (gee, just what building ISS helped solidify). Power is no issue; the nuclear plants the Navy uses in the 688 attack subs would be more than sufficient, and it's reliability record is unmatched. Computer support is no issue; we have more processing power on our desktops than ever went to the moon....or on the shuttle, for that matter. Maneuvering systems exist and are basically off the shelf. Landing vehicles would have to be designed, of course....but look at all the single stage to orbit vehicles that competed a few years ago. Again, off the shelf. The only things we do not have atm are a regenerative life support system that would last the round trip and then some, and the actual engines....and we never will until we actually have need for them. That is where you involve the colleges. The research could be farmed out across the country, and the financial tags would help a lot stay affordable. And it would give the kids something to dream for, again. Currently there is no real sense of adventure in higher education; it's nothing more now than a conduit into one of those higher paying jobs....which, despite the stereotypes, doesn't really motivate kids. Adventure does. Passion does. Something like this could breathe new life back into the educational system (and be honest; what would have hit your cool button harder....going to college to get a degree to ultimately dork out in a business environment, or getting a chance actually help build the engine of mankinds first true space ship, hmmm?).

And what do we do with the ship when it gets back....?
Resupply it, refit it, put a new crew on her, and send her back out there on another mission. And this kind of platform would have all sorts of uses. It could easily deploy comm sats on the way to its target, so that there is boosted communications with Earth....or any other structure. You could launch outer system explorers while enroute to your destination, and do so from positions that make the trip shorter, or more efficient. For that matter, you could commission Hubble 2, and place it in free space orbit around the sun. What new things would we be able to see away from the light pollution of the earth and just a bit further away from the sun?