A survey conducted by space industry businesses and advocates reports positive national views about the U.S. space program, especially when respondents were prompted with examples of its value.
The Coalition for Space Exploration's online survey, released at 8 a.m. today, found 88 percent of respondents saw at least some value in space exploration.
The number rose to 96 percent after examples of spinoff technology or economic benefits were cited.
Some worrying findings: only 16 percent of the roughly 1,000 adults surveyed said they were very familiar or extremely familiar with the space program, and more than half thought NASA consumed a far higher percentage of the federal budget than it actually does (less than 1 percent).
The survey was taken by people who had agreed to participate in online surveys through Dallas-based e-Rewards, in exchange for rewards points from retailers, airlines and other partners.
Click "Read more..." to read the survey and a press release about it.
The coalition said the survey, conducted in mid-January, reached a representative sample of Americans based on factors such as geographic, gender and political distribution.
A spokesman said the coalition, which has commissioned Gallup polls since 2005, wanted to use a different methodology this time - online instead of by phone, and with the option to prompt respondents with information.
Click here to read the survey questions and breakdown of responses.
Here's the press release announcing the findings.
The survey did not pose policy questions about NASA's plans to return to the moon and Mars, or preferences of human vs. robotic exploration.
The coalition's spokesman said additional surveys planned this year would drill down into more detail, and this survey's intent was to establish a baseline for public opinion in a year of significant political and economic change.
What do you think of the survey and its methodology? Does it accurately capture public opinion about space exploration? Will it influence policy-makers to beef up NASA's budget? We'd like to hear your opinion, though we can't offer any reward points for it.
Click here to link to the Coalition for Space Exploration. It's members include space contractors and agencies United Space Alliance, Harris Corp., ATK, The Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Space Florida.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
1 comment:
I wish I could believe that this survey accurately represented national opinion and would influence policymakers. However, it has several flaws. The respondents were self-selected, so it's not a scientific survey. Many questions are biased, designed to sway respondents' level of support to the space program by emphasizing the value of tech spinoffs and inspiration to youth -- but these are secondary benefits, and a space program must be justified on its primary applications. Science is never mentioned, and some of the spinoffs highlighted are questionable. (Vacuum cleaners predated the space program by many years.) And if you start a question by stating that the Chinese, Russians, and Indians are poised to eat our lunch, how would you expect most people to respond on whether or not the U.S. should strive to maintain leadership?
Also, it's misleading to quote trade and employment figures for the entire U.S. aerospace industry and let people believe it's all attributable to space. If you subtract the commercial and military aviation and the missiles, and focus only on the space numbers, it's far less impressive.
I expect this will be viewed by policymakers -- if they give it any attention at all -- as just another self-serving effort by an interest group.
Jim Vedda, Alexandria, VA
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