Survey Finds Young Adults 'Largely Disinterested' in the U.S. Vision for Space Exploration

[Mark Reiff <markreiff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

FYI,

The legacy of junk science, hateful politics, an out of touch space
agency and a culture of ignorance and apathy.

"Dittmar Associates Finds Young Adults 'Largely Disinterested' in the 
U.S. Vision for Space Exploration"
Dittmar Associates Press Release
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.rss.spacewire.html?pid=20904

: In a study reported on at the American Institute for Aeronautics
: and Astronautics (AIAA) Space 2006 meeting, Dittmar Associates
: reported that young American adults are "largely disinterested" in
: the Vision for Space Exploration announced by President Bush in
: January of 2004.

: These results came from a follow-up study to the company's
: groundbreaking Market Study for Space Exploration originally
: released in November of that year. Some of the original 2004
: results included:

: Endorsement of the space program in general was very strong, with
: 69% of Americans voicing their support.

: Interest and excitement about the Vision for Space Exploration was
: strong for near-term aspects of the plan (65% of Americans
: responded positively) and for returning to the Moon. This was not
: true for plans to send humans to Mars, which is seen as involving
: much more risk (only 18% of Americans responded positively).

: There were large and significant differences in attitudes and
: enthusiasm about the space exploration program which emerged on
: the basis of sex, ethnic groups, age, and other variables.

: Beginning in late 2005 and into 2006, Dittmar Associates developed
: and executed a follow-up to the Market Study which focused on
: Americans between the ages of 18 and 24 years. All in all, the
: results supported those of the original study as pertains to this
: age group; young Americans as a group are generally disengaged
: from and cynical about the human spaceflight aspects of the U.S.
: civil space program. Among the findings:

: 49% of respondents were aware of the Vision for Space Exploration
: to some extent. Detailed understanding of the program is lacking
: with "something about the Moon" characterizing the majority of
: responses.

: Interest in return to the Moon is slim, with 29% interested,
: 45% neutral and 23% disinterested

: Most important concerns are jobs, the war, and relationships;
: space ranks near the bottom of the list of personal priorities.

: Opposition to a human mission to Mars is strong, running 3:1;
: however the majority (52%) support more robotic missions like the
: Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity

: Interest in "New Space" (commercial) human spaceflight efforts
: such as the X-Prize flights of SpaceShip One is increasing,
: relative to the results of the previous study.

: The original Market Study for Space Exploration has just been
: released to the general public and can be purchased directly from
: Amazon.com or through a link on the Dittmar Associates website at
: http://www.dittmar-associates.com . The AIAA Space 2006 paper
: which includes new information about the attitudes of young
: Americans is also available for free download on the website.

: Dittmar Associates, Inc. is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and
: specializes in strategic planning, market research, training, and
: engineering services for government, industry and academia in the
: high technology, medical and aerospace sectors. Dittmar Associates
: also provides high technology products to law enforcement,
: homeland defense and related agencies through its subsidiary
: FARSIGHT Intelligence Systems, which specializes in unmanned
: aerial vehicle (UAV) systems.

: Contact:

: Dr. Mary Lynne Dittmar
: Dittmar Associates, Inc.
: 18333 Egret Bay Blvd., Ste. 270
: Houston, TX 77058
: phone: (281) 335-3626
: email: info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
: http://www.dittmar-associates.com

--
Mark Reiff <markreiff@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

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