Moon mining may also help not only nuclear fusion (via Helium 3), but also the hydrogen energy economy (fuel cells: because precious metals are required in that process (Platinum if I remember correctly).
Further, the Moon and Mars might help other projects like mining the asteroids, or reaching more distant points in space like the gas giants. The reason for this further reach is that fuel can be stored in the orbits of planets--using this method, only the fuel needed to reach orbit would be required, and the savings in fuel cost would be huge. If space-elevators come into existence, and solar sails, then a lot more missions and infrastructure in space would be possible (such as space based solar power).
Mining the Moon. 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.
This Moon was Made for Mining (Helium-3) The 2009 indie film Moon features Sam Rockwell as an employee (named Sam) of the fictional Lunar Industries, a mining corporation back on Earth. Just wrapping a three-year solitary stint on the moon, Sam is charged with overseeing the automated harvesters which extract helium-3 from the lunar regolith. Canisters of the harvested helium-3 are then sent to Earth to be used to generate fusion energy. Much of the film deals with Sam’s growing personal crisis as he finds out a few unpleasant things about his employer. The movie’s premise is technically science fiction, but the notion of mining the moon for valuable natural resources that are in short supply on Earth is closer to reality than you might think.
SPACE MUSIC: The Essential Mix: ‘Life on the Moon’ The Helium Incentive As Discovery News reports, thanks to a critical shortage last year, the price of the isotope helium-3 has skyrocketed from $150 per liter to $5,000 per liter. Fusion Power? And that’s where the moon comes in. 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] Mining the Moon.