Public Opinion About Space Exploration - Is Space Exploration Important To Society?

In November 1999 the Gallup Organization asked people to rank eighteen specific events of the twentieth FIGURE 9.1
Public opinion poll on whether landing a man on the moon in 1969 ranked among the most important events of the twentieth century century in order of importance. The resulting list is shown in Table 9.1. Landing a man on the moon ranked seventh in importance. This put it behind major events associated with World War I, World War II, and important social milestones that granted rights to women and minorities. Fifty percent of those asked believed that landing a man on the moon was the most important event of the century. (See Figure 9.1.)

A second space-travel milestone also made the top eighteen list. Ranked fourteenth was the launching of the Russian Sputnik satellites during the 1950s. Twenty-five percent of those asked rated this one of the most important events of the century. Charles Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic in 1927 also made the list, coming in at number thirteen.

These responses were given in a poll that addressed specific incidents during the last century, rather than technological achievements developed over time. By contrast, a Gallup poll conducted earlier the same year (1999) found that only 39 percent of those asked agreed with a NASA claim that putting a man on the moon was the "single greatest technological achievement of all time." (See Figure 9.2.) More than half (59 percent) of the respondents did not agree with the claim. Gallup analysts speculate that most Americans probably consider the computer a greater technological achievement than the manned lunar landing.

An ABC News poll conducted in August 1999 asked 506 adults about their greatest hope for humankind over FIGURE 9.2
Public opinion poll on whether putting a man on the Moon is humanity's greatest technological achievement, 1999 the next millennium. The results showed that the greatest single hope was for world peace (38 percent) followed by cures for terminal illnesses (13 percent). The ability to travel farther into space was mentioned by only 4 percent of the respondents. This is the same percentage expressing hope for improved racial relations and less pollution.

In February 2003 Gallup asked 1,200 teenagers across the country to assess three technological phenomena in terms of their potential impact upon the future. The results are shown in Figure 9.3. The Internet received the highest ranking of the three choices. Eighty-seven percent of the teenagers asked believe that the Internet will have at least some influence upon their future. This compares with 77 percent for genetic engineering and 70 percent for space travel. Clearly most teenagers believe that space travel is an endeavor of importance to their future, but feel that it may not play as large a role as computer and biological technologies.