Unfortunately people are struggling to have a nice life. When you struggle, you don't really have the ability to look beyond a very local horizon. The best way to ignite passion among the population is to figure out how to fix the destruction of the middle class and allow people to dream beyond if they can make rent next month or worry about medical bills.
And nation states operate based upon the population's support. If the population was clambering for a mars trip, we'd do one, but without that support, it just won't happen.
I'm not talking about people who struggle. Plenty of rich MFs out there who aren't really doing anything anywhere near as inspirational with their wealth. I mean them, the people for whom a few billion here and there is not going to make much of a difference.
And nation states operate based upon the population's support. If the population was clambering for a mars trip, we'd do one, but without that support, it just won't happen.