Shortly after NASA published the first stunning images taken by the new powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an online opinion survey was conducted: Was the observatory worth almost USD 10 billion a good investment? It turned out that the Americans reacted positively to such an expensive project.
Marketing and analytical firm YouGov has published the results of an online survey of thousands of Americans, asking their general opinion about the activities of the aerospace administration and whether space programs are good investments. Approximately 70% of respondents had a positive opinion of NASA, and 60% believed that the James Webb Space Telescope was worth their taxes.
The survey was conducted from July 14 to July 18 after NASA published the first striking James Webb images of shiny galaxies and nebulae on the 12th. It seems these photos were enough to overshadow the dramatic 20 years of JWST development.
NEW: Following the release of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, 3 in 5 Americans say the telescope has been a good investment. One-quarter (26%) are unsure, and 13% say it has been a bad investment.https://t.co/gcL65FIjLE pic.twitter.com/AwJxbSkZVF
— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) July 19, 2022
At first, NASA hoped to launch the telescope sometime between 2007 and 2011. By that time, it was worth from 1 to 3.5 billion dollars. But then there were a number of shifts in the graphs. By the time the space telescope was ready and set off on a journey to the L2 Lagrange point at the end of 2021, its total cost had risen to USD 9.7 billion. The Planetary Society notes that JWST spending accounts for 0.0095% of the total U.S. budget between 2003 and 2022.
These first images are just a small teaser of what to expect in the future. The longer the telescope works in space, the more stunning photos and revelations about the Universe will appear.
Earlier we reported how James Webb noticed “life indicators” on the first planet.
Follow us on Twitter to get the most interesting space news in time
https://twitter.com/ust_magazine
