Keith Cowing seems to think that Stephen Hawking is being inconsistent:

When asked about his thoughts on President Bush’s proposal to put a man on Mars within 10 years, Hawking simply replied: “Stupid.”

This, in the context of the recent story that Dr. Hawking thinks that we must colonize space for our long-term survival.

I don’t see what the problem is. It’s possible to both believe that we should colonize space, and that the current policy is a poor way to do so, for the expenditures being proposed. I can attest to this, because I do in fact believe that.