Is NASA planning to use Zubrin's plan thus far?

Question

From what I have heard, NASA originally wanted to use a methane fueled rocket for the Altair lander so they could test the technology before putting it to use on Mars. Zubrin proposed producing a manned expedition's fuel on the surface by turning the atmosphere into methane. This has got me wondering what other parts of his plan they are "planning" on using.

Are they going to use the three stage semi-direct plan, the two year duration, or the simulated gravity via tethered spin?

Of course nothing is for sure when it comes to any manned Mars mission... but NASA must have some idea where they are headed and must have been planning accordingly.

Answer 1

No, they have so far dropped most of it in constellation, though Zubrins ideas still form the base for the mars reference mission of NASA.

Answer 2

Mars 'atmosphere' is a bit thin .. in fact, it's rather hard to distinguish form a reasonably good 'vacuum'  .. so you would need quite a bit of technology to compress it up and 'react' it to get the Methane .. and the weight of the machinery (plus spares etc) might be better spent on extra fuel instead ..

NB> Making methane out of the astronauts 'waste' might be more practical :-)