Climate Changed

Americans Think NASA Should Focus on Climate Change. Trump Doesn’t

A Bloomberg poll shows the public and Washington don’t share the same space priorities.

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By Riley Griffin and Justin Bachman

August 1, 2018 at 9:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

NASA’s focus should not be on the cosmos but on Earth, according to a wide-ranging Bloomberg poll of Americans’ views on space.

Observing the climate should be NASA’s “top priority,” according to 43 percent of those surveyed, who chose from six possible options. One-quarter said the agency should monitor asteroids and other space objects. Only 3 percent said NASA’s top focus should be sending astronauts to the moon, while a mere 8 percent said a human trip to Mars or other planets should be the agency’s main goal.