The money spent by governments on space programmes would be better spent on vital public services such as schools and hospitals. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Governments in some countries spend large amounts of

money

on

space

exploration programmes. I completely agree with the idea that these are a waste of

money

, and that the funds should be allocated to public services. There are several reasons why

space

programmes should be abandoned.

Firstly

, it is extremely expensive to train scientists and other staff involved with

space

missions, and facilities and equipment

also

come at a huge cost to the government.

Secondly

, these programmes do not benefit normal people in our daily lives; they are simply vanity projects for politicians.

Finally

, many missions to

space

fail completely, and the smallest technological error can cost astronauts their lives. The Challenger

space

shuttle disaster showed us that

space

travel is extremely dangerous, and in my opinion it is not worth the risk. I believe that the

money

from

space

programmes should go to vital public services

instead

. It is much cheaper to train doctors, teachers, police and other public service workers than it is to train astronauts or the scientists and engineers who work on

space

exploration projects.

Furthermore

, public servants do jobs that have a positive impact on every member of society.

For example

, we all use schools, hospitals and roads, and we all need the security that the police provide. If governments reallocated the

money

spent on

space

travel and research, many thousands of people could be lifted out of poverty or given a better quality of life. In conclusion, my view is that governments should spend

money

on services that benefit all members of society, and it is wrong to waste resources on projects that do not improve our everyday lives.