Only 1 in 4 Americans would take a free flight to space — what's wrong with us!?!

A recent poll by Monmouth University has found the unthinkable: only one in four Americans would take a free flight to space! I know, I couldn't believe it either. In our culture of freebies and gimmes, only 28% of those surveyed would be interested in exploring the outer reaches of our atmosphere if given a complimentary seat on a space flight...that goes to space. Seriously, you guys, space!

The survey, which you can download here, explores how much American attitudes towards space travel have changed in the intervening decades since the original Apollo mission to the moon.

And while space is intriguing to many, skepticism remains. Of course, lately there has been a major shift in space exploration from public to private aviation. On that front, the survey found that only 37% of respondents believe space travel should be strictly the domain of governments. That left 58%, and a few undecideds, in full support of private space travel.

However, support for space travel doesn't correlate to the desire to float weightlessly above the earth. The results revealed that age was a primary factor when it comes to space travel — older people are far less likely to want to experience space travel, as are Republicans and women. There's also plenty of doubt as to whether private space travel will actually happen within the next 20 or 30 years: 55% of respondents think it's either "not too likely" or "not at all likely" that people will travel regularly to space (tell that to Richard Branson and Elon Musk).

As a rabid aviation geek myself, I can't understand who would decline a free trip to outer space. The only possible explanation is that after watching Sandra Bullock float through space for 91 panic-inducing minutes, everyone has become irrational about this amazing adventure.