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

In November 1999, as the century came to a close, the Gallup Organization asked people to rank eighteen specific events of the twentieth 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.

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.

TABLE 9.1

Public opinion poll on the most important events of the twentieth century, 1999

1. World War II
2. Women gaining the right to vote in 1920
3. Dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945
4. The Nazi Holocaust during World War II
5. Passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
6. World War I
7. Landing a man on the moon in 1969
8. The assassination of President Kennedy in 1963
9. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
10. The U.S. Depression in the 1930s
11. The breakup of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s
12. The Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s
13. Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight in 1927
14. The launching of the Russian Sputnik satellites in the 1950s
15. The Korean War in the early 1950s
16. The Persian Gulf War in 1991
17. The impeachment of President Bill Clinton in 1998
18. The Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon in the 1970s

SOURCE: Adapted from Frank Newport, David W. Moore, and Lydia Saad, "The 18 Events Were Then Rank-Ordered Based on the Percentage of Americans Who Placed Each in the Top Category as 'One of the Most Important Events of the Century'," in The Most Important Events of the Century from the Viewpoint of the People, The Gallup Organization, December 6, 1999, http://poll.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci=3427&pg=1 (accessed February 4, 2006). Copyright © 1999 by The Gallup Organization. Reproduced by permission of The Gallup Organization.

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 9.1. 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% for genetic engineering and 70% 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.

A Gallup poll conducted during June and July of 2004 found that a majority of people asked were "interested" in the space program. (See Figure 9.2.) Only 11% reported they were not at all interested. More men (34%) than women (15%) indicated they were "very interested" in the space program. Interest was also higher among respondents aged fifty to sixty-four years old. When provided with five possible reasons for space exploration, people most commonly chose the reason that it is "human nature to explore." This answer garnered 29% of the vote, as shown in Figure 9.3. Another 21% believed that space exploration was primarily performed to help maintain the nation's status as an international leader in space. Nearly as many respondents (18%) thought the main reason was to provide benefits on Earth. Small percentages believed that Americans explore space to ensure national security (12%) or inspire people and motivate children (10%).

FIGURE 9.1 Public opinion poll of teens on the future influence of various technological achievements, 2003 Jennifer Robison, "How Much Influence Do You Think These Things Will Have upon Your Future? Do You Think Each of the Following Will Have A Lot, Some, or Not Much Influence upon Your Future?" in Teens and the Future: Forecast vs. Fiction, The Gallup Organization, March 18, 2003, http://poll.gallup.com/content/default.aspx?ci_8008&pg_1 (accessed January 31, 2006). Copyright © 2003 by The Gallup Organization. Reproduced by permission of The Gallup Organization.