Space at your fingertips: Assessing the public's interest in space activities

Abstract

National space programs require the continuous interest and support of the public and government. Surveys and polls are the most commonly used method to monitor the public opinion regarding space activities. Such methods however can only measure the public view of a sample population of people at a specific moment in time. This paper examines the use of internet search trends to monitor and assess the public's changing interest in space activities. By analyzing the varying trends in online demand for information related to space activities, the impact of the government space programs as well as the factors that influence the public's interest are examined. Internet trend data has the potential to become a new metric to assess the relative performance of space policy initiatives, especially in terms of acquiring and managing the interest of the public. The continued interest and support of the public is vital for long term space programs, such as the lunar exploration program, to withstand the changing political environment of multiple administrations.