The return of Artemis II has brought space exploration back to the public conciousness, which begs the question: who is most likely to reach Mars first?

• On the topic of reaching Mars, 35% say the U.S. government will reach it first, and 35% say it will be a private company.
  • Overall, 31% pick Elon Musk's privately owned SpaceX to reach Mars first, while 4% say it will be some other private company.
  • Another 7% say it will be the Chinese government, and 24% are not sure.
  • Democrats are far more likely to say the Government will reach it first, while Republicans strongly believe it will be a private company.
• A solid plurality (43%) of voters say it is Very Important that the U.S. maintain its position as the leader in space exploration, while another 31% say it is Somewhat Important.
  • Strong majorities of both parties say it is at least Somewhat Important.
  • However, 55% of Republicans say it is Very Important, compared to 32% of Democrats.
• Overall, 85% have a favorable opinion of NASA, while a much smaller majority (56%) have favorable views of SpaceX.
  • Republican numbers are comparable for both organizations, but Elon Musk's political associations have soured Democrats, leaving just 39% with a favorable view of his company.
• On the other hand, when asked about Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin or the British owned Virgin Galactic, a majority of voters either have not heard of them or do not know enough to have an opinion.

This data is from a Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 Registered Voters conducted online by Scott Rasmussen, April 14-15, 2026. RMG Research, Inc., conducted the field work for the survey. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1.