Posted: Sun, Jan 18, 2004, 1:47 PM ET (1847 GMT)
A new poll released Sunday shows that the American public's support for President Bush's new space exploration initiative is limited. The New York Times/CBS News poll, conducted January 12-15, revealed that 40 percent of the public believes that the US is spending too much on space exploration programs, the highest fraction from four such polls dating back to October 1998. The poll also showed that 48 percent of the public favors, but 47 percent oppose, a human mission to Mars, a result similar to a recent AP poll. Fifty-eight percent of the public were also opposed to a permanent base on the Moon, with 35 percent in favor.

Related Links:

•  New York Times article
•  Complete poll results