Three-quarters of Russians believe the existence of sentient life forms on other planets is possible, a survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM) has revealed ahead of International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12.
The figure represents a 14% increase compared to a similar poll carried out by VTSIOM in 2008. Some 36% of respondents believed in the existence of intelligent life forms from outer space, while 39% said this was possible but unlikely.
Meanwhile, one in five people dismissed the prospect of aliens living on other planets as virtually impossible.
According to the poll, 66% believe that people will live on other planets in the future, which marks a sharp rise from the 51% that backed this prospect in 2008.
More than a third of respondents (35%) are certain that cosmic phenomena like solar flares and explosions, meteorite infalls, and the formation of black holes somehow affect people’s lives.
Some 33% of those surveyed claimed that phenomena of this kind have a negative impact on people’s general physical state, with 15% complaining about elevated blood pressure, headaches, or dizziness as a result.
A connection between space and environmental changes was perceived by 27% of respondents, while 12% linked climate and weather changes to cosmic phenomena. Magnetic storms are related to space phenomena as well, according to 8% of those polled.
The survey conducted by VTSIOM on April 5 was carried out among a sample of 1,600 respondents over 18 years old.
International Day of Human Space Flight is celebrated on April 12. It is dedicated to the first crewed space flight made on April 12, 1961 by 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. In Russia, the anniversary is called Cosmonautics Day.