Area journey for billionaires is the shock matter with bipartisan American help — however not from Gen Z

This article was originally published at The conversation. The publication has the article on Space.com’s. contributed Expert voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Joseph Cabosky, Associate Professor of Public Relations, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

With Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson both fly into space in the craft sector made by their own private companies, July 2021 was perhaps the most high-profile month for space travel in years. But these events were with one Mix from opinion.

I am a associate professor for public relations and examine how opinions on topics such as politics, entertainment, and even space launches vary between different groups of people. I worked with colleagues at The Harris Poll to find out what US citizens think these launches and the broader subject of private space travel.

The survey found that most US citizens are interested in and have positive attitudes about the private space industry. One outlier was younger people who are less hopeful about the benefits of galactic travel. Overall, however, and interestingly, these positive feelings are widespread across political and demographic boundaries. It is rare to see such an agreement any problem The results suggest that space could be a unifying theme in the years to come.

Related: Virgin Galactic takes Richard Branson into space in the first fully manned flight

Good for everyone, but best for the rich

A total of 2,011 US citizens responded to the Question of survival between July 23rd and July 25th 2021, just a few weeks later Branson and Bezos flew into space. In the survey, participants were asked to agree or disagree with a number of statements about the potential value of these launches, the motivation behind the launches, and who will have access to space. In response to every question, people supported space travel and the technological developments that resulted from it. However, respondents also viewed these events as ego trips that were generally limited to wealthy people.

To understand whether people think these efforts are important, one statement read: “Space and research are important to the future development of mankind.” 74 percent of respondents agreed, with similar results across all political parties. Similarly, over two-thirds of people agreed with the idea of ​​”The Recent Space Launches Of Blue origin and Virgo galactic are important for the future development of space and technology. “

Despite this support, the results also reflected recent chatter about space the playground of the super rich. In response to the statement, “The launches make me believe that one day normal people will be able to fly into space,” 58% of people agreed. However, roughly 80% thought that “the launches made me believe that only rich people will be able to fly into space in the near future” and agreed with the statement that “Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic’s recent space launches have been billions of ego trips. “

Finally, around 3 in 4 felt that “money spent on space could be better spent on tackling today’s problems on earth,” although the partisan divisions here were slightly higher.

According to Rob Jekielek, Managing Director of The Harris Poll, “space has fueled our vision of the future of humanity,” but people are concerned about “taking away resources to meet today’s pressing challenges.” That feeling was reflected in most demographic and political parties – a rare thing at a time when Partiality on most issues is pretty high.

Generational differences and scientific beliefs

While the poll found many similarities across party lines, there was greater disagreement among age groups – young people in particular stood out.

Respondents aged 18 to 24 were less supportive in assuming that spending money on space – or the earth – would have an equally positive effect.

Of the youngest group, 59% said space was important to humanity, and only 63% thought the money could be better spent on earth. 78% of 41 to 56 year olds think space is important to humanity, and 80% think the money spent on space could be better spent on earth. However, the lower confidence in the ability of money to solve problems compared to older groups is not new. Younger Americans tend to less belief in political systems in general.

The billionaires’ space race is a waste. And it shouldn’t be possible because there shouldn’t be billionaires. Https://t.co/maf48u6NOaJuly 23, 2021

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Another notable demographic difference was between those who were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine and those who weren’t. 79% of people who are interested in vaccines think space is important, while 60% of those who are against vaccines. While both groups still agree that space is important, the gap was one of the largest in the sample. I believe this could reflect different views on science in general.

Despite the mix of headlines and tweets taking turns slapping or praising Bezos, Branson, and Elon Musk, this poll shows that US citizens are generally agreed right now that space is still an exciting frontier. The future of space includes Satellite internet, Missions to Mars and Space tourismbut it also includes high costswho have favourited problems of Space junk and Climate concerns.

It will be interesting to see whether this broad support continues or whether partisanship and the less optimistic views of the younger generations prevail.

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