Building and maintaining the constituency for long-term space exploration

The exploration of space is a long-term endeavor that will require strong public support to weather societal and political changes over the period of its implementation. In August 2006, George Mason University's Center for Aerospace Policy Research organized a workshop to address this issue. The sustainability of space exploration was investigated from a variety of perspectives by invited experts from the space sector as well as from the market research and public relations fields. This paper summarizes the results of the workshop. It presents market research data along with recommendations for an active strategic communications effort as well as public engagement to enhance public support for space exploration, especially among the younger age groups which tend to be uninterested in space activities.