71 percent of Americans are confident humans will get to Mars in 20 years, according to a new poll. Here’s some disappointing news: Americans think NASA gets way more of the federal budget than it really does.
A nonprofit advocacy group called Explore Mars teamed up with a PR firm to gauge public opinion about Mars exploration. Americans are confident we’ll get there eventually, and once they were told there are currently two operational NASA rovers on the planet, 67 percent of people agreed the U.S. should send both humans and robots there.
Interestingly, the poll found that on average, people think NASA spending accounts for 2.4 percent of the federal budget. It’s really more like 0.5 percent. When people were told the real number, they overwhelmingly agreed, strongly or just “agreed,” that it’s worthwhile to increase NASA’s budget to a nice, whole 1 percent to finance this expected trip.
77.2% of American men and 79.9% of women said they will see a female president in their lifetime.
Asked if they believe God plays a role in who wins, 27% of Americans said yes. Poll results varied among regions and religions: 36% said yes in the South, 28% in the Midwest, 20% in the Northeast and 15% in the West.
