Libertarian Technowanks Dreaming of Life on Mars

So John Tierney thinks the survival of the human species depends on our colonizing Mars. Set aside what the nattering nabobs of negativism say--for example, Bruce Sterling ("The Gobi Desert is about a thousand times as hospitable as Mars and five hundred times cheaper and easier to reach.") and Charles Stross ("as a desirable residential neighbourhood [Mars]t has some shortcomings, starting with the slight lack of breathable air and the sub-Antarctic nighttime temperatures and the Mach 0.5 dust storms, and working down from there"). That's not the thing that gets me.

What gets me is this: Tierney is a libertarian; Instapundit, who links approvingly, thinks of himself as a libertarian. Both enthralled with the idea of colonizing another planet.

But...if human survival actually depends on colonizing Mars, isn't that just about the best goddamn argument ever for not being a libertarian?