Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

Apollo 11 moonwalkers, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin.
Credit: NASA

This Sunday marks 56 years since Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first walked across that “magnificent desolation” of Earth’s Moon.

A just-released CBS News poll has found that most Americans favor America returning to moon, as well as head for the distant dunes of Mars.

Moon to Mars

“There is a lot of public favor for the idea of the U.S. returning to the Moon, and also for eventually going to Mars. About two-thirds do, while a third does not,” reports Anthony Salvanto, CBS News’ executive director of elections and surveys.

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has used its high-powered camera system to provide looks at the Apollo 11 landing site. The remnants of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s historic first steps on the surface are seen as dark paths around the Lunar Module (LM), Lunar Ranging RetroReflector (LRRR) and Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP), as well as leading to and from Little West crater.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,404 U.S. adults interviewed between June 18-23, 2025. The margin of error is ±2.6 points.

Findings

Salvanto observes several other findings in the poll:

• Younger Americans who are not old enough to remember the first Moon landing are especially in favor, perhaps looking forward to seeing that exploration in their lifetimes. These views generally cut across ideological and party lines, as well.
• The first Moon landing in 1969 continues to loom large in the public mind, all these years on — a big majority says it was worth doing, while just under a quarter says it was not. Views were comparable back when this was asked at the 40th and 50th anniversaries of the Apollo 11 landing.
• That may be partly because, in general, Americans tend to think the space program adds at least somewhat to feelings of national pride.
• People tend to think the space program also contributes some — if not necessarily a lot — to technological contributions from which everyone can benefit.

Go to this informative video on poll outcomes at:

https://youtu.be/KSgQ1PmqiBM?si=Q-fdDUZVWRWQxKuV