With headlines about UFOs and private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origins launching rockets into space with an eye towards future civilian space travel, the question remains: Would you go?
Well, almost a third of Americans who took part in a Quinnipiac poll say they’re ready to blast off.
34% of the more than 1,300 adults who participated say they’d travel to space if they could, though 65% admit don’t have The Right Stuff.
A similar number of Americans, 32%, would want to travel to the moon or Mars, but only if they were colonized. More men than women said they’d go to space — by a margin of 44% to 24%.
Thirty-eight percent of Hispanic American respondents said they’d travel to space, compared to 35% of whites, and just 20% of Black Americans.
That said, young adults — those aged 18-34 — were the most likely to say they’d want to go, responding yes at a rate of 53%. But those numbers decrease as respondents’ age increase: 39% in the 25-49 year-old demographic said they would, compared to 26% in the 50-65 year-old range, and just 14% for those 65+.
With regard to the unidentified flying objects making headlines recently, the Quinnipiac poll showed 42% of Americans said they’re man-made aircraft of unknown origin, while 35% say they’re alien spacecraft. Twenty-two percent said they had no idea either way.