Colonize or not, there are many things we explore on Mars to understand it's geology and evolution that are not wasted.

If we're never going to colonize it, then it's a net-negative to resources from Earth, and therefore that money is wasted. It seems extremely unlikely that we'll make some discovery that makes this all worth it.

>It seems extremely unlikely that we'll make some discovery that makes this all worth it.

Finding evidence of previous life on mars would make it all worth it.

But in the end, it is all on Mars, so implicitly of only marginal interest.

People are so proud of being able to get there at all that they forget to consider whether there is anything there to get to.

We waste money on almost everything that isn’t good or shelter. Cars. Roads. Movies. Sports. Etc