4. Background Research
I found the article, "A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION" (2) very helpful as is allowing me to brush up on my history of the topic as well as making sure all my fact are
correct. It contains a brief rundown of all the major US space programs from Apollo to the Space Station as well as briefly touching on the future of Space Exploration. In many
ways my project will be an extension of this article as it will go into further detail about the future of the US Space Program.
I believe this article will help me form the basis to my introduction as I
want to provide a brief summary of space exploration at the start in order
to provide continuity as well as to show the evolution of the US space
program over time as well as how the future may differ from the past.
5. Background Research
Since it is the American space program I am focusing on. I decided to do some research into the average Americans views on there
space program and whether they believed it was worth it. I decided to compare statistics from the modern space program to what
they were in the 60s when America was running the Apollo Program. I found my results surprising as I found out "support for the
moon landing has increased the farther we've gotten away from it. 77 percent of people in 1989 thought the moon landing was
worth it; only 47 percent felt that way in 1979." (3)
My 3rd source also states that: "For example, many people believe that Project Apollo was popular, probably because it garnered
significant media attention, but the polls do not support a contention that Americans embraced the lunar landing mission.
Consistently throughout the 1960s a majority of Americans did not believe Apollo was worth the cost, with the one exception to
this a poll taken at the time of the Apollo 11 lunar landing in July 1969. And consistently throughout the decade 45-60 percent of
Americans believed that the government was spending too much on space, indicative of a lack of commitment to the spaceflight
agenda. These data do not support a contention that most people approved of Apollo and thought it important to explore space.
(3)
Based on what I have read from this source I believe that the reason why so many Americans were against the Apollo program in
the 60s was primarily due to the political and civil unrest that took place in that time. As a result of this it is likely that the average
American believed the government should spend more money in helping to fix these issues and make the country a better and
safer place rather then on what seemed to many, a glorified camping trip on the Moon.
This is backed up by this quote from an article on news.gallup.com which states "Back in 1979, ten years after Apollo 11, an NBC/
AP poll showed that only 41% of Americans said the benefits of the space program outweighed its costs. By 1994, 25 years after
Apollo 11, that number had risen to 47%. Now, at the 30-year mark, 55% are positive about the benefits outweighing the
costs." (4)
6. My research into the publics opinion on space exploration in the 60s has shown me contrasting results to what I can find about
the publics opinion today. This article on pewresearchcentre.com show that the public opinion on space exploration has
increased in favor dramatically since the 60s. This could be due to people remembering the Apollo program through rose
tinted glasses in a nostalgic way or perhaps it could be due to the different social and political climate of todays world. "In
a 2011 Pew Research survey, 58% of Americans said it is essential that the U.S. be a world leader in space exploration.
Some 38% said they think the space program contributes “a lot” to scientific advancements that Americans can use, and
another 36% said the program contributes “some” to such advancements. Most also said that the space program
contributes a lot (34%) or some (34%) to America’s national pride and patriotism. More broadly, in a 2009 Pew Research
survey, 74% said that space exploration does more good than harm, while only 17% said it does more harm than good." (5)
I also decided to do some research into the publics opinion on the NASA institute in general. The same
article from source 5 indicates that "Americans generally have a favorable opinion of NASA" (5)
A different source also supports this. Another news gallup article states that "In late 1999, a Gallup poll showed that
53% of Americans believed NASA was doing an excellent or good job, while 43% rated the job NASA is doing as only
fair or poor." (6) This research was done via Telephone interviews from over 1000 randomly selected adults across
different areas of the US. Since this article is nearly 20 years old however the information may no longer be accurate.
However it does still show an evolution from polls conducted in the 60s, through to the 90s, and into the 2010s.
I tried to use YouGov profiler to get some background information on the average American and there opinions on NASA.
However each time I tried to do this I got a 404 error. I was however able to access information for average British person. This
could be considered less relevant information since NASA is a US institute and I am focusing on the American Space Program
however it was interesting to gather information from a perspective of a non American who's countries are closely allied.
I found that the most common gender that is interested in NASA are males with an average age of 40-54 with a social grade
of ABC1 Putting them in the lower to upper middle class. They most commonly reside in Central Scotland, The Midlands or
Wales specifically the country of Avon. The majority sided with mid to left politics and are in professions such as
Engineering, IT and Manufacturing with a monthly spare of £125 to £499. (7)
10. Structure
I will be using this outline to structure my presentation. The reason I will be doing this is
because I found in my research that the most successful and interesting presentations
follows a specific structure which will allow me to cover all of my points and answer
certain questions that the audience may have. Whilst this structure is based on live
presentations to an audience within the room I can adapt most of the conventions for a
video presentation.
(1)
For my video I have decided to go with my first idea which is to produce an informative video on the future of human
space exploration. The reason I have decided to do it on this topic is because NASA and Space exploration is such a big
operation however I am amazed at the lack of knowledge and public interest in this topic which is why I have picked
this topic for my video. In the video I will also talk about the current problems facing NASA both financially and
logistically. Finally I will talk about some possibly solutions and what NASA is currently trying to do to solve there issue
such as there teaming up with Space X as well as building re usable deep space spacecraft.
11. Proof of concept trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPK6CdKNUjw
19. Potential Risks Potential Solution
Risk of fire –Due to the hot studio lighting and the amount of
wiring required for the equipment there is always a risk of
fire.
Make sure everyone is well versed in the fire drill procedures
and that there is a fire extinguisher on hand for emergencies.
Risk of injury on set from tripping over camera
equipment/wires.
Make sure if wires are trailing over the floor that they are
clearly marked. Also make sure that people are spatially
aware of everything around them.
Risk of injury from heavy lifting of equipment Stop people from overexerting themselves when lifting heavy
things. Get more people to help if necessary
Dehydration from working in a hot enclosed space Make sure every one takes regular brakes if the shoot is long
as well as having a drink of water in hand to quench there
thirst. (If necessary take them to the college nurse)
Headache (General) or from bright studio lighting Make sure people are drinking water regularly and they have
pain relief on hand such as ibuprofen. (If necessary take
them to the college nurse).
Water Spillage could cause damage to equipment, slipping or
fire
Make sure any drinks present are sealed in a bottle and are
out the way of any equipment. Require people to go outside
the studio if they need to take a drink.
Eye strain from bright lights or from looking at a screen for
too long whilst editing.
Make sure that people take brakes from the screen as well as
keeping themselves hydrated and fed.
Risk Assessment
20. Bibliography
1) Unkown (UTS). (Unknown). Structure of a presentation. Available: https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/support/helps/self-help-
resources/presentation-skills/structure-presentation. Last accessed 24-09-2018.
2) Unkown. (2018). A BRIEF HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION.Available: https://aerospace.org/story/brief-history-space-exploration. Last
accessed 21/09/2018.
3) ALEXIS C. MADRIGAL. (2012). Moondoggle: The Forgotten Opposition to the Apollo Program. Available:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/09/moondoggle-the-forgotten-opposition-to-the-apollo-program/262254/. Last
accessed 21/09/2018.
4)FRANK NEWPORT. (1999). Landing a Man on the Moon: The Public's View. Available: https://news.gallup.com/poll/3712/landing-man-
moon-publics-view.aspx. Last accessed 21/09/2018.
(5) BRIAN KENNEDY. (2015). 5 facts about Americans’ views on space exploration. Available: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-
tank/2015/07/14/5-facts-about-americans-views-on-space-exploration/. Last accessed 21/09/2018
(6) DARREN K. CARLSON. (2001). Public Views NASA Positively, But Generally Disinterested in Increasing Its Budget. Available:
https://news.gallup.com/poll/1927/public-views-nasa-positively-generally-disinterested-increasin.aspx. Last accessed 21/09/2018.
(7) NA. (2016). People who like NASA. Available: https://yougov.co.uk/profileslite#/NASA/demographics. Last accessed 21/09/2018.
