....what interests you won't necessarily interest 200,000,000 other taxpayers.
Most people nowadays seek pizzazz, instant gratification, and some nail-bitting, heart-pounding excitement.
How many American taxpayers get excited by reading the latest issue of ASTRONOMY magazine, compared to either PLAYBOY or SPORTS-ILLUSTRATED?

I don't think astronomy clubs and space-organizations across America pack them in like strip-clubs or sports stadiums.

Most people I run across couldn't care less about the latest images of rocks from Mars
or Titan. That doesn't mean they're not interested in space.
If they learned that a mountain-sized asteroid was on its way to smack into the middle of North America, their interest would rise dramatically....out of self-interest/reservation.
Or if told that a cure for diabetes and cancer may be found onboard a space station
laboratory, their interest is often piqued, especially if they are or were hospital patients.

And since Harris Polls have shown that most North Americans [foolishly] beleive that we're
being visited by UFO's, most people I run across would be interested in a space mission
or astronomy effort to find out if there is ET out there? and where?
A case of means justifying an erroneous end?

To prove it, just walk around around any neighborhood, asking at random what
they expect from their spaceprograms - And they'll tell you pretty well what I've told you.
You could take that to the bank.