News of last month’s triumphant SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch stirred the science community and aficionados alike as the world’s most powerful new space rocket flawlessly blasted into the heavens on its trailblazing deep-space mission that continues the scientific milestones set by the Saturn V rockets of the Apollo era. Elon Musk, the billionaire founder and lead designer of SpaceX, highlighted the opportunity such an landmark moment cements to “encourage other companies and countries" to drive interplanetary exploration and scientific
The excitement of the Falcon Heavy launch reminded me of the less-than-stirring Mission Juno website released in 2010 to mark the launch of the Juno spacecraft and its exploratory mission to our solar system’s largest planet. Granted, marketing an unmanned six-year NASA voyage is no easy task, but the Mission Juno site missed an opportunity to excite a new generation of astronomers and innovators. While the website graphics are attractive, the final product is a mix of bloated flash animations interspersed with stale copy that reads like a ninth-grade science textbook. Hardly the type of interaction expected to entice young minds to space exploration.
Sure, a website alone will never ignite a desire to learn about our solar system. But the U.S. space program has been reaching a critical marketing juncture in recent years as public enthusiasm for space exploration has been on a steady decline. The indifference among young adults in particular is troubling. Research conducted by NASA, although somewhat dated, reveals a surprising “40% of Gen Y opposed NASA’s mission and 39% believed nothing good had ever come out of it.”
Millennial apathy has been the catalyst for NASA’s new and improved engagement model with Generation Y. Gone is the approach of just explaining the space program and its scientific impact. Instead, NASA’s Millennial members have defined a strategy for connecting in a more “meaningful way” with an audience weaned on video games and high-energy television.
“For our generation,” they advise,” TV is not passive entertainment, it is an interactive experience. And our lives and outlooks have been shaped by this. Anyone can be a star. Everyone deserves to have a say.”
The redefined engagement model seems to be working. NASA has incorporated a host of social media, gaming, and Web 2.0 technologies into a collaborative and connected culture that is attracting its Millennial audience in unprecedented ways. If SpaceX is any indication of the excitement that the next frontier will cultivate, making the millennial connection will grow more vital as the next generation assumes the mantle of science and government.