Not ironic at all. The Mars trilogy is hardly a utopia. Instead, it's a repudiation of our political economy. Certainly his recent Aurora is an overt criticism

Not ironic at all. The Mars trilogy is hardly a utopia. Instead, it's a repudiation of our political economy. Certainly his recent Aurora is an overt criticism of terrestrial hubris which posits that future generations would, if they could, come back and punch us in the face.