IELTS Speaking Part 3: Is Space Exploration Worth the Cost?

Let's move on to science and space exploration.

Is space exploration a worthwhile use of public money?

Oh, I'm a bit of a space nerd, so... yes!

Ha, I suspected you might say that.

Seriously though, it's not as wasteful as it seems.

Space research has given us countless everyday technologies.

Satellite navigation and weather forecasting, for instance.

But couldn't that money tackle poverty here on Earth?

Hmm, that's the obvious counterargument...

and I don't want to dismiss it lightly.

But space budgets are tiny compared to, say, defence spending.

Really? Are you sure about that?

I'm afraid I don't know the exact figures.

But I'm fairly confident it's a small fraction.

That's fine. Let's move on.

Should private companies lead space exploration now?

Oh, that worries me slightly, to be honest.

Billionaires racing each other to Mars? It feels like vanity!

Yet they've dramatically reduced the cost of launches.

True, reusable rockets have been a genuine breakthrough.

I just think space shouldn't belong to whoever's richest.

That's a thoughtful distinction.

Will humans ever live on another planet, do you think?

Wow, now that's the dream, isn't it?

Realistically, though, Mars is brutally hostile to human life.

Perhaps... in a century or so, with luck.

Thank you. That's the end of the speaking test.

Oh, already? That was over in a flash!