IELTS essay sample: Did moon landing benefit common people?

Essay topic

In the last century, the first man to walk on the moon said it was “a giant leap for mankind”. However, some people think it has made little difference to our daily lives. To what extend do you agree or disagree?

Sample response

It is often argued that moon landing has had little impact on the lives of common people. I agree with this view; however, I don’t think that we should underestimate the importance of this major scientific achievement.

It is certainly true that moon landing is not beneficial to common people and spending money on this adventure is meaningless from that perspective. The government uses public money to fund its space missions. It collects taxes from people. This money should be used for the benefits of the general public and there is no justification for spending it on space adventures.

Millions of people living in under developed countries suffer from famine and draughts. Thousands are dying of hunger. Developing countries are also grappling with problems like illiteracy, unemployment and malnutrition. All of these problems clearly show that the world hasn’t changed in spite of man putting his footprint on the moon.

On the other hand, sending man to the moon was one of the greatest achievements of the last century. When Neil Armstrong set his foot on the moon, scientists made the impossible possible. Moon landing improved our confidence and demonstrated that we could achieve just about anything through science. What’s more, it broke all the superstitions about the galaxy. I personally feel that moon has the potential to become a major tourist destination in the not-so-distant future. NASA has already started the process to shortlist people who would like to travel to the moon. The growth of population is becoming a major problem for us. If it grows at the current rate, the earth will not have enough space to accommodate future generations. So, if we can colonise moon or mars, it will solve the space constraints on earth. Scientists are exploring this possibility.

To conclude, I still believe that by sending man to the moon, we achieved a major scientific breakthrough; however, this achievement has had little impact on the lives of common people. But this may change in future when commercial travel to moon becomes possible.