Prediction Models for Willingness to Support Private and Government Space Ventures: A Regression Study

<p>Public opinion is critical to the future of United States (US) space ventures as it can affect factors such as funding and legislation. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence the American public’s willingness to support both private and government space ventures. A set of 15 possible predictors were identified via a review of similar articles and surveys, including demographic information, social media and news consumption behaviors, offline activity, and opinions about space ventures. A total of 638 adults from the US participated in this study via Amazon ® Mechanical Turk ®. A multiple regression analysis of these data yields regression equations for each Willingness to Support Private and Government Space Ventures. The regression equations suggest Willingness to Support Private Space Ventures was influenced by gender, political affiliation, familiarity with space ventures, and perceived value of space ventures, while Willingness to Support Government Space Ventures was influenced by education and perceived value; the two statistical models explain 42% and 46% of the variance, respectively. These results and future study recommendations may be of interest to private and governmental organizations interested in growing support for their space ventures among the American public.</p>