IELTS WRITING TASK 2 - OPINION ESSAY - PRIYA BASETTY

NOW A DAYS, MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT ON SPACE RESEARCH EVERY YEAR. SOME PEOPLE ARGUE THAT THE MONEY SHOULD BE SPENT ON OTHER ESSENTIAL AREAS SUCH AS HEALTHCARE AND EDUCATION . GIVE YOUR OPINION .

The idea of spending astronomical sums of money on space research is widely debated, with many people claiming that this could be better spent on such other vital sectors as healthcare, education and the like. In my opinion, this notion merits serious consideration.

The reason why space research deserves colossal expenditures are myriad. The primary one lies the fact that with countless numbers of satellites out there , forecasting weather has never been as precise and accurate as now . That scientists can predict flood,storm,tsunami and other calamities with near-perfect precision is only due to space exploration . Besides, researches on space also mean state-of-the-art communication system in place , without which maintaining constant contact between satellites, space shuttles and the like would be next to impossible . There is no doubt that the way people communicate with each other in today's fast-paced era can largely be attributed to the developments made in space technologies. Last but not least, studies on space can pave the way in finding life on other planets and benefiting from the natural resources out  there.

However, there are some pitfalls that can easily overwhelm the potential benefits of space exploration. The primary concern stems from the fact that space research entails colossal amounts of expenditure, where as we have got millions of people starving all over the world . Should we not feed these unprivileged people first before indulging in ambitious adventures in space . As such, affluent nations are also equally responsible for shaking off the poverty of the impoverished ones, as the later have limited budget and resources . In addition , wealthy nations can best use their resources by improving the infrastructures in an array of sectors such as healthcare , education, transport and so on , instead of sending robots to find water in Mars , costing taxpayers crores of rupees . Hence, it is apparent why many are against extravagant venture to space.

From what has been discussed, one can observe that there are other priorities in the world at present , from eradicating poverty to setting up new infrastructures to improving the standard of living , which should be looked after first , before investing such mammoth sums of money on space research programmes .