What Americans Really Think of Space Tourism

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As billionaires race to conquer the cosmos, many Americans are struggling to afford everyday essentials like food, gas, and electricity. Against this backdrop, space tourism has sparked mixed reactions. Some view it as a symbol of human progress, while others see it as a tone-deaf display of privilege. We surveyed 1,000 Americans to learn how people feel about billionaire-led space travel.

Key Takeaways

• More than half of Americans (56%) oppose billionaires investing in space tourism.
• About 1 in 3 Americans say space tourism doesn’t benefit society in a meaningful way and that it’s “entirely performative.”
• Americans are more likely to trust Elon Musk’s SpaceX (37%) to safely take civilians to space, compared to Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic (36%) and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin (27%).

Opposition to Billionaire Space Ventures Reflects Deeper Financial Frustrations

• Over half of Americans (56%) oppose billionaires investing in space tourism, while fewer Texans (51%) oppose it.
• College-educated Americans (57%) are slightly more likely to oppose billionaires investing in space tourism compared to those with only a high school education (54%).
• Democrats are more than twice as likely to oppose billionaires investing in space tourism compared to Republicans (70% vs. 32%).
• 53% of Americans believe funding should be given to social issues (like housing, hunger, and healthcare) instead.
• Americans under serious financial stress (68%) are the most likely to oppose billionaires investing in space tourism, as are those struggling to pay for gas or transportation compared to other household bills (65%).

Public Perceptions Skew Negative, While Political, Economic, and Educational Divides Run Deep

• 63% of Americans feel billionaires shouldn’t prioritize early space tourism and that we need to “fix Earth first.”
• About 1 in 3 Americans say space tourism doesn’t meaningfully benefit society and is “entirely performative.”
• 2 out of 5 Americans are upset by celebrities going to space, and more than 1 in 5 Americans believe the recent Blue Origin mission involving Gayle King, Katy Perry, and others was fake.
• When asked how space tourism makes them feel, non-college-educated Americans are more likely than the college-educated to feel angry (26%), curious (25%), and envious (7%). College-educated Americans are more likely to feel embarrassed (23%) about it.
• Democrats are more likely to feel angry (30%) and embarrassed (28%) about billionaire space tourism compared to Independents (23% and 20%, respectively) and Republicans (14% and 15%, respectively).
• Republicans are most likely to feel curious (35%) and hopeful (11%) about space tourism compared to Independents (25% and 4%, respectively) and Democrats (14% and 3%, respectively).
• Texans are less likely to say they’re angry about billionaire space tourism compared to the rest of the US (19% vs. 26%). However, Texans (24%) are a little more likely than other Americans (22%) to feel embarrassed about it.
• Those who feel financially secure are most likely to feel curious (25%) and hopeful (7%) about billionaire space tourism, while those under serious financial stress are most likely to feel angry (32%).
• Non-college-educated Americans (39%) are more likely than college-educated ones (36%) to say they would rather spend money on Earth instead of experience space tourism, even if costs weren’t an issue. The same is true for Democrats (45%) compared to Independents (32%) and Republicans (23%).
• Non-college-educated Americans (66%) feel that no one should be prioritized in early space tourism, compared to 62% of the college-educated.
  • Non-college-educated Americans are also more likely to say everyday civilians (15%) should be prioritized in a lottery system than college-educated Americans (9%).
  • 44% of college-educated Americans say scientists should be prioritized, compared to 40% of non-college-educated ones.

Moral Concerns and Trust Gaps Shape the Space Tourism Debate

• The majority of Americans (66%) believe billionaires have a moral obligation to solve Earth’s problems before funding private space missions. Americans struggling to pay for gas or transportation, compared to other bills, are more likely to say this (78%).
  • Democrats are nearly twice as likely to say this as Republicans (80% compared to 41%, respectively).
  • When it comes to generations, baby boomers (51%) are the least likely to believe this, and Gen Z (80%) is the most likely.
  • Texans (63%) are slightly less likely to feel this way compared to the rest of the US (66%).
• If given a billion dollars, 55% of Americans say they would invest in a variety of domestic issues, not space tourism.
  • Republicans (3%) are the most likely to say they’d use this money for space tourism, compared to Independents (1%) and Democrats (1%).
• If offered a choice by a billionaire, most Americans (65%) would choose to have a year of rent or mortgage covered.
• If cost weren’t an issue, 36% of Americans would still rather see money spent on Earth than have a chance to experience space tourism. Democrats (45%) are more likely than Republicans (23%) to say so.
• If money didn’t matter, 18% of Texas and 16% of Americans would take the chance to experience space tourism, as would 18% of non-college-educated Americans and 15% of college-educated ones.
• Americans are more likely to trust Elon Musk’s SpaceX (37%) to safely take civilians to space, compared to Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic (36%) and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin (27%).
  • Texans (40%) are more likely to say they trust Space X than Virgin Galactic (32%).
  • College-educated Americans (38%) are most likely to trust Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.
  • More non-college-educated Americans trust Elon Musk’s SpaceX compared to the college-educated (52% vs. 35%).
  • Baby boomers and Gen X are most likely to trust SpaceX (43%), and Gen Z is most likely to trust Virgin Galactic (41%).

• Trust in billionaires to safely take civilians into space, by political affiliation:
  • Republicans (83%) are almost 5x more likely than Democrats (17%) to say they trust SpaceX.
  • Democrats (50%) are over 7x more likely than Republicans (7%) to say they trust Virgin Galactic.
  • Democrats (33%) are also more than 3x more likely to trust Blue Origin compared to Republicans (10%).

Methodology

We surveyed 1,000 respondents ranging in age from 18 to 78 to explore what Americans really think of space tourism. The mean age was 46; 44% of respondents identified as male, 46% as female, and 2% as non-binary. Generationally, 7% of respondents were baby boomers, 23% were Gen Xers, 52% were millennials, and 18% were Gen Zers. As for political affiliations, 47% of respondents were Democrats, 31% were Independents, and 22% were Republicans.

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