A sample group of 10,329 U.S. adults was surveyed between May 30 and June 4.

About seven in 10 respondents said America's role in space was essential, while 30% said it was not.

The survey indicates that 47% of Americans have done at least one space-related activity over the past year, with 26% saying they have seen images from space telescopes.

While NASA has increasingly worked with private partners such as SpaceX, and a majority of Americans believe private companies are doing a good job, most survey respondents still believe the organization is crucial to space exploration.

Of the respondents, 65% said NASA's continued participation is essential, while 32% said they expected private companies to successfully handle space exploration without NASA's participation.

When asked if private companies were doing an adequate job of clearing space junk, 26% of respondents said they are doing a mostly bad job, compared with 21% who say they are doing a mostly good job and 53% who said they don't know.

The data indicates that 69% of Americans believe space junk will be a problem in the future, while only 30% think it is unlikely to be a problem.

On the subject of space tourism, 55% of respondents said they expected tourists to routinely visit space over the next 50 years though only 35% respondents said they would want to travel into space themselves, with 65% saying they would not.

Six in 10 respondents said monitoring asteroids and objects that could strike Earth should be a top priority for NASA, while 50% agreed that monitoring the Earth's ecosystem should be a top priority.

Only 12% of respondents said returning humans to the moon should be a top priority, while 11% said sending humans to Mars should be a top priority.

Four out of 10 respondents said they expected intelligent life to be discovered on other planets in the next 50 years while 58% say the scenario is not likely.

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