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Majority of Americans Believe It Is Essential That the US Remain a Global Leader in Space (pewinternet.org)

Posted by msmash on from the what-we-want dept.

Pew Research: Sixty years after the founding of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), most Americans believe the United States should be at the forefront of global leadership in space exploration. Majorities say the International Space Station has been a good investment for the country and that, on balance, NASA is still vital to the future of U.S. space exploration even as private space companies emerge as increasingly important players. Roughly seven-in-ten Americans (72%) say it is essential for the U.S. to continue to be a world leader in space exploration, and eight-in-ten (80%) say the space station has been a good investment for the country, according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted March 27-April 9, 2018. These survey results come at a time when NASA finds itself in a much different world from the one that existed when the Apollo astronauts first set foot on the moon nearly half a century ago. The Cold War space race has receded into history, but other countries (including China, Japan and India) have emerged as significant international players in space exploration. Another finding in the report: Most Americans would like NASA to focus on Earth, instead of Mars.

2 of 286 comments (clear)

  1. Doesn't matter ... by CaptainDork · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    ... because American voters also want a Wall.

    They want to be isolationist and nationalistic.

    They do not want to invest in the education needed to produce rocket scientists.

    They want coal plants to stay open for jobs despite the owners' assertion that "we don't use manual labour like we used to."

    They want nuclear power but they have no indigenous people who can build a plant.

    They are anti-science.

    Judge Orders EPA To Produce Science Behind Pruitt's Climate Claims

    America will never dominate in any regard going forward.

    They want to be great again by going backwards.

    --
    It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
    1. Re:Doesn't matter ... by penandpaper · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      set up gives disproportionate priority to poorly-educated rural voters.

      Yea! God forbid the federal government represent its people so that their needs aren't ignored. I mean, why should rural voters have a say at the federal level? The founders were a bunch of idiots for their time who didn't understand the rural-urban divide as a serious geo-political division of culture and government needs! Truly, b0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) of the internet in $CurrentYear is smarter and can come up with a mob rule to put those rural retards in their place that would benefit the educated cities.

      Shame on them for not accepting the sacred cow of coastal political elites! Shame on them for having different needs of the federal government! Shame on them for voting in their own self-interests! Shame on them for not being convinced by my super smart talking points I heard in womyn studies.

      We should have a final solution to those rural retards. amirite?

      Here's a thought. Maybe instead of insulting people you could try convincing them with better arguments and data. Oh, I know. It's better to be a smug elitist sitting on high not having to defend the sacred cows of your ideological thought bubble.