The majority of Russians, 76 percent, say their country is a global leader in space exploration, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center said in a survey released on Friday, the same day the country celebrates the Cosmonautics Day
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th April, 2019) The majority of Russians, 76 percent, say their country is a global leader in space exploration, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center said in a survey released on Friday, the same day the country celebrates the Cosmonautics Day.
"Russia's leadership in the space exploration activities is recognized by the majority of Russians, 76 percent. Apart from our country, Russians believe that the United States and China also hold leading positions [in space exploration] 66 percent and 46 percent respectively," the poll said.
According to the survey, 90 percent of Russians supported their country's space exploration efforts. Out of those, 49 percent said that Russia's space activities were important for the development of the fields of technology and science, 24 percent said that it was important for the creation of new jobs and 44 percent said it was important for Russia's defense strategy against external threats.
The poll was conducted on April 10 among 1,600 adult Russians. The margin of error is 2.5 percent.
On Friday, Russia is celebrating Cosmonautics Day, established in 1962 to commemorate the first manned space flight by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961. That day, a booster rocket took into orbit the Vostok spacecraft with Gagarin, the first human to journey into space, on board. On the same day, the world is celebrating the International Day of Human Space Flight.
