Do Americans know how many astronauts walked on the moon before the Apollo program was shut down?
As is often the case when it comes to numerical matters, most Americans are pretty wide of the mark in their attempts to answer this question. The correct answer — 12 — is given by only 5% of Americans, most of whom guess a number that is substantially lower than the right total. Perhaps because of the recent emphasis on the Apollo 11 mission, which was manned by three astronauts (only two of whom actually walked on the moon, of course), about a third of Americans guess that only one, two or three men have ever walked on the moon. Another third guess between four and seven, meaning that about two-thirds of Americans feel that seven or fewer humans have been on the lunar surface. The median response is five, meaning that about half guess less than five, while about half guess more than five. Only 11% overestimate the correct total, and say that 13 or more men have walked on the moon. Have the billions spent on the space program been worth it? Americans have gradually become more likel
