Is helium-3 worth going to the Moon?
The answer is helium-3, a gas that’s extremely rare on Earth but 100 million times more abundant on the Moon. However, mining helium-3 could be useful now, because of its non-energy applications. A major one is its ability to detect neutrons coming from plutonium that could be used in terrorist attacks.
What is the cost of helium-3?
At $1400 per gram, one hundred kilograms (220 pounds) of helium-3 would be worth about $140 million. One hundred kilograms constitutes more than enough fuel to potentially power a 1000 megawatt electric plant for a year when fused with deuterium, the terrestrially abundant heavy isotope of hydrogen.
How is helium-3 stored on the Moon?
According to a paper published by Jeff Bonde and Anthony Tortorello, helium-3 is an isotope that has been deposited in lunar soil over billions of years by solar wind. The gasses would be taken back to a lunar base where the oxygen and hydrogen would be put to good use and the helium-3 stored for later export to Earth.
How much helium-3 is there on the Moon?
However, as it does not have an atmosphere, there is nothing to stop helium-3 arriving on the surface of the Moon and being absorbed by the lunar soil. As a result, it has been estimated that there are around 1,100,000 metric tonnes of helium-3 on the surface of the Moon down to a depth of a few metres.
What is the most valuable mineral on the Moon?
ilmenite
It exists almost entirely in the mineral ilmenite (FeTiO3) in the range of 5-8\% by weight. Ilmenite minerals also trap hydrogen (protons) from the solar wind, so that processing of ilmenite will also produce hydrogen, a valuable element on the Moon.
How is helium-3 stored on the moon?
How do you extract helium-3 from the moon?
This helium-3 could potentially be extracted by heating the lunar dust to around 600 degrees C, before bringing it back to the Earth to fuel a new generation of nuclear fusion power plants.
Can Helium-3 explode?
It was the largest ever nuclear explosion. One ton of helium-3 has the potential to produce 1.5 times more destructive power than the Tsar Bomba. The internal dynamic of a thermonuclear explosion is fusion.
Does Earth have Helium-3?
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.
Why is helium 3 abundant on the Moon?
The moon has abundant supplies of helium-3, a light and non-radioactive fusion fuel that is virtually nonexistent here on Earth. Because the moon lacks an atmosphere and has been bombarded by solar winds containing helium-3 for billions of years, the moon has massive volumes of the isotope.
Is helium 3 really the future?
Helium-3 is not a piece of science fiction, but an isotope of helium that really could provide for all of our energy needs in the future. With absolutely no pollution. Helium-3 is slightly different than the gas that fills birthday balloons.
Why is helium 3 rare on Earth?
All helium is rare on Earth because it’s too light to be held by our gravity, so the only helium on the planet is what is produced by radioactivity inside the Earth, and that is mostly helium-4. But there is helium-3 in the solar wind, and since the moon is outside our magnetosphere , some of it has been trapped in the lunar soil over the eons.
What mineral resources can be found on the Moon?
Oxygen. The elemental oxygen content in the regolith is estimated at 45\% by weight.