Mining the Moon. At the 21st century’s start, few would have predicted that by 2007, a second race for the moon would be under way. Yet the signs are that this is now the case. Furthermore, in today’s moon race, unlike the one that took place between the United States and the U.S.S.R. in the 1960s, a full roster of 21st-century global powers, including China and India, are competing. Even more surprising is that one reason for much of the interest appears to be plans to mine helium-3–purportedly an ideal fuel for fusion reactors but almost unavailable on Earth–from the moon’s surface.
NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration has U.S. astronauts scheduled to be back on the moon in 2020 and permanently staffing a base there by 2024. While the U.S. space agency has neither announced nor denied any desire to mine helium-3, it has nevertheless placed advocates of mining He3 in influential positions. The Chinese, too, apparently believe that helium-3 from the moon can enable fusion plants on Earth. NASA is now accepting applications from companies that want to mine the moon. NASA is now working with private companies to take the first steps in exploring the moon for valuable resources like helium 3 and rare earth metals.
Initial proposals are due tomorrow for the Lunar Cargo Transportation and Landing by Soft Touchdown program (CATALYST). One or more private companies will win a contract to build prospecting robots, the first step toward mining the moon. The contract will be a "no funds exchanged" Space Agreement Act, which means the government will not be directly funding the effort, but will receive NASA support. Final proposals are due on March 17th, 2014. NASA has not said when it will announce the winner. NASA works with private companies that service the International Space Station, and those partnerships have gone well. Faced with a skeleton budget, the agency is looking for innovative ways to cooperate with the private sector According to the 1967 Outer Space Treaty of the United Nations, countries are prohibited from laying claim to the moon. Helium-3 Power. You are in: Future Technologies : Helium-3 Power Generation Helium-3 Power Generation Helium-3 (He3) is gas that has the potential to be used as a fuel in future nuclear fusion power plants.
There is very little helium-3 available on the Earth. However, there are thought to be significant supplies on the Moon. Several governments have subsequently signalled their intention to go to the Moon to mine helium-3 as a fuel supply. Such plans may come to fruition within the next two to three decades and trigger a new Space Race. In addition to the information below, you can also find out more about this topic from the Mining Helium-3 On the Moon video or in my interview on "the new space race and mining the moon for helium 3" available from my BBC Nottingham Profile Page. Helium-3 and Nuclear Fusion To provide a little background -- and without getting deeply into the science -- all nuclear power plants use a nuclear reaction to produce heat.
Mining Helium-3 on the Moon A Flower in the Darkness? NASA Wants People To Mine The Moon. Helium-3. Helium-3 (He-3) is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. It is rare on Earth, and it is sought for use in nuclear fusion research. The abundance of helium-3 is thought to be greater on the Moon (embedded in the upper layer of regolith by the solar wind over billions of years),[1] though still lower in quantity (28 ppm of lunar regolith is helium-4 and from one ppb to 50 ppb is helium-3)[2][3] than the solar system's gas giants (left over from the original solar nebula).
Helium-3 was hypothesized to be a radioactive isotope until helions were also found in samples of natural helium, which is mostly helium-4, taken both from the terrestrial atmosphere and from natural gas wells. This was done by Luis W. Alvarez and Robert Cornog in cyclotron experiments at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California in 1939.[5] Physical properties[edit] [edit] Neutron detection[edit] n + 3He → 3H + 1H + 0.764 MeV Cryogenics[edit] Medical lung imaging[edit]