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Sharing the Adventure with the Public The Value and Excitement of 'Grand Questions' of Space Science and Exploration: Summary of a Workshop (2011) / Chapter Skim
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Session 7: Inspiring Public Interest in Space Research and Exploration: Communications Challenges and Opportunities
Pages 49-54

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From page 49...
... ; Chair of the European Space Sciences Committee of the European Science Foundation INTRODUCTION Joan Vernikos, president of Thirdage LLC, former director of life sciences for NASA, and Space Studies Board member, served as moderator of the first of the two workshop sessions that focused more specifically on the communicators rather than the scientists. Reversing the format for the first six sessions, where scientists discussed the Grand Questions and then interacted with communicators through a panel discussion, in this session and Session 8, communicators discussed the theory and practice of communications and then interacted with scientists through a panel discussion.
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From page 50...
... Scheufele emphasized the need to connect with the public on their own "turf," using as an example putting a banner along the sidelines of a soccer game saying "science for a better life." Public values are important in understanding many of the emerging technologies and cause people to look at information differently. He cautioned against a widening "elite gap" where people with college educations increasingly are better educated about nanotechnology, for example, than high school graduates, showing data that as the information about nanotechnology became more complex between 2004 and 2007, the gap widened.
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From page 51...
... Scheufele, presentation to the workshop on Sharing the Adventure with the Public⎯The Value and Excitement of "Grand Questions" of Space Science and Exploration, November 10, 2010. Data from National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2010, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va., retrieved March 3, 2010, from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind10/.
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From page 52...
... exploration by orders of magnitude," he stated, adding that he believes commercial human spaceflight is a way to regain the public's interest. LINDA BILLINGS Linda Billings, research professor at George Washington University's School of Public and Media Affairs and a principal investigator with NASA's astrobiology program, commented that she is a "hybrid" of a scholar, like Scheufele, and a practitioner like Kaufman.
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From page 53...
... Although many in the space community express the desire to improve public understanding, interest, and engagement, there is no evidence that it would lead to more public support, which is what they are actually seeking. She stressed that "public information, public education, public interest, public engagement, public understanding, and public support are all different social processes and phenomena, and one does not necessarily lead to another." Public participation is also different, and government agencies "tend to be resistant to true public participation in planning and policy making," but that may be the only path to "enduring public involvement." The idea of space exploration -- of human and robotic presence in space -- interests the public as much as the "mechanics" of doing it.
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From page 54...
... Efforts need to be taken to tie together space science and human exploration, to engage the public's involvement through virtual interaction with robots, progressing through to human journeys, so that when a human goes everybody will be there with him. Kaufman asked to make one last comment that he meant to make earlier and said that NASA public affairs "is far and away the best one I've dealt with.
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Key Terms

  • public understanding
  • space science
  • public support
  • space community
  • space program

  • grand questions
  • panel discussion
  • linda billings
  • space studies
  • public participation

  • public opinion
  • scientific papers
  • human spaceflight
  • joan vernikos
  • nasa administrator

  • pew research
  • opinion research
  • sciences committee
  • social media
  • frosted flakes

  • daniel goldin
  • necessarily lead
  • percent understand
  • public involvement
  • science writers

  • cited former
  • nasa public
  • human goes
  • true public
  • scheufele continued


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