As Clayton recently posted about, the ISS recently had an "oh crud" moment when debris was found in a joint on one of the arms holding a solar panel. Unfortunately, the crew of the ISS and everyone on the ground just had another one of those moments when they were installing a solar array in its new and final position on the main truss of the station.
When one of the "wings" was unfolding, a wire snagged the mesh that makes up the solar collector, ripping the panel. The procedure was halted before too much damage could be done, but the task of fixing the problem was beyond what anyone would expect.
The astronaut performing the repairs was strapped by his feet to the hull of the station, far away from the airlock. For seven hours he repaired the solar panel with makeshift tools, receiving directions from the ground (conceived of almost on the spot), all the while avoiding touching the solar cell which could have electrified and killed him.
The recent problems on the ISS aren't necessarily connected to human incompetence or lack of attention, but they illustrate the problems with space travel and habitation. If a tiny problem like metal shavings or a snag in your solar panel can cause so much trouble in such a short time, do you still want to travel to Mars? Heck, do you even want to live on the moon? Maybe so, but it's going to take some serious care to get there and back safely.
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