Mining The Moon

popular mechanics ^ | October 18, 2004 | HARRISON H. SCHMITT

[demlosers]

THREE FACES OF FUSION

BY STEFANO COLEDAN
Illustration by Jana Brenning

THE BASICS OF LIMITLESS POWER: Albert Einstein's famous E=MC2 equation reflects the enormous energy that can be released by fusing atoms. Hydrogen atoms fusing together to create helium powers the sun.

1. FIRST GENERATION: Scientists have duplicated solar fusion on Earth by using two "heavy" hydrogen atoms--deuterium and tritium--which fuse at lower temperatures than ordinary hydrogen. A first-generation deuterium-tritium fusion reactor operated experimentally for 15 years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey.

2. SECOND GENERATION: While useful for studying fusion, reactors operating with deuterium-tritium fuel are impractical for commercial use. Among other things, the reaction produces large amounts of radiation in the form of neutrons. Substituting helium-3 for tritium significantly reduces neutron production, making it safe to locate fusion plants nearer to where power is needed the most, large cities. This summer, researchers at the University of Wisconsin Fusion Technology Institute in Madison reported having successfully initiated and maintained a fusion reaction using deuterium and helium-3 fuel.

3. THIRD GENERATION: First-generation fusion reactors were never intended to produce power. And, even if they are perfected, they would still produce electricity in much the same way as it is created today. That is, the reactors would function as heat sources. Steam would then be used to spin a massive generator, just as in a coal- or oil-fired plant. Perhaps the most promising idea is to fuel a third-generation reactor solely with helium-3, which can directly yield an electric current--no generator required. As much as 70 percent of the energy in the fuels could be captured and put directly to work.

A GEOLOGIST GOES TO THE MOON

TRAINED EYE: Geologist Schmitt knew where to find the best rocks. Photo by NASA

Budget cuts, a public bored with space and fear of losing a crew--Apollo 13 was still a vivid memory--turned Apollo 17 into the last moon mission of the 20th century. NASA decided to get the most scientific data possible from its last lunar excursion and made a crew change: Harrison H. Schmitt became the first and only fully trained geologist to explore the moon. Schmitt was a natural choice. With a doctorate from Harvard University, he was already on the staff of the U.S. Geological Survey's astrogeology branch in Flagstaff, Ariz. His job included training astronauts during simulated lunar field trips. There was only one hole in his résumé. Schmitt had never learned to fly. In 18 months he earned his wings, and became a jet plane and lunar landing module pilot. On Dec. 11, 1972, he and Eugene Cernan landed in the moon's Taurus-Littrow Valley. On the first of three moonwalks, Schmitt's scientific knowledge became evident. So did his enthusiasm. His periodic falls stopped hearts at Mission Control, which feared he would rip his spacesuit and die instantly. Four years after returning with 244 pounds of moon rocks, Schmitt was elected U.S. senator from New Mexico. Now chairman of Albuquerque-based Interlune-Intermars Initiative, he is a leading advocate for commercializing the moon.--S.C.

[Darkwolf377]

Ray Bradbury was right, we should have done the space shuttle first, THEN gone on to the moon, with the space stations in orbit as a jumping off point to further solar system exploration.

[Lyford]

bump

[Darth Dan]

NOOOOOOO!!! Disaster!!! I saw that movie "Time Machine". The moon-base will destroy the earth!!!! (tinfoil hat now back in place, systems normal)

[demlosers]

Oops...missing paragraphs:

They soon discovered that sustaining the temperatures and pressures needed to maintain the..

...so-called deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction for days on end exceeded the limits of the magnetic containment technology. Substituting helium-3 for tritium allows the use of electrostatic confinement, rather than needing magnets, and greatly reduces the complexity of fusion reactors as well as eliminates the production of high-level radioactive waste. These differences will make fusion a practical energy option for the first time.

It is not a lack of engineering skill that prevents us from using helium-3 to meet our energy needs, but a lack of the isotope itself. Vast quantities of helium originate in the sun, a small part of which is helium-3, rather than the more common helium-4. Both types of helium are transformed as they travel toward Earth as part of the solar wind. The precious isotope never arrives because Earth's magnetic field pushes it away. Fortunately, the conditions that make helium-3 rare on Earth are absent on the moon, where it has accumulated on the surface and been mixed with the debris layer of dust and rock, or regolith, by constant meteor strikes. And there it waits for the taking.

An aggressive program to mine helium-3 from the surface of the moon would not only represent an economically practical justification for permanent human settlements; it could yield enormous benefits back on Earth. ...

[demlosers]

Space ping!

[transhumanist]

I just this afternoon glanced through a book titled "Moon Rush: Improving Life on Earth Using the Moon's Resources". I didn't pick it up, but I think I might after reading this excellent article. Back to the moon!!

[ClearCase_guy]

Long-term, I'm very bullish on lunar mining.

That being said, an overly rosy view of this situation is apt to backfire. Short-term problems I see:

No shuttle fleet in operation
No Moon Base
No workable railgun technology to return rocks to Earth
No workable fusion reactors on Earth, once the rocks get here.

In short: we can't get there, we can't mine the stuff, we can't get the stuff back here, and we can't use the stuff if we do get it. So, Long-term, this will be great, and we have to begin work now so that we can eventually solve the problems and reap the benefits. But this is not just around the corner, IMO.

[Moonman62]

Perhaps the most promising idea is to fuel a third-generation reactor solely with helium-3, which can directly yield an electric current--no generator required.

Perhaps, but there is a sure fire way to fail in business if you choose to go into highly technical, new growth markets, and that is to get your timing wrong. Most people know about being too late, but there is also such a thing as being too early. There is no need put up a fortune for a new Moon program until there is a need for it. Just because the government has a right to rob us blind is no reason to call for them to fund your favorite project.

[TexasTransplant]

Education Bump

[SedVictaCatoni]

No shuttle fleet in operation

Well, this one at least isn't a problem - the space shuttle is useless for getting to the Moon, as it's limited to low Earth orbit.

[Brett66]

I think tourism will be the best justification for going to the moon in the short term. We'll need to reduce the cost for getting mass to and from the moon dramatically then a host of things become economically viable, such as producing titanium-strength glass produced from the silicates from lunar material and made in the vacuum environment on the moon's surface.

[Wiz]

Rather than transporting the helium 3 itself to earth, why not build a power plant on moon and send electricity down to Earth by laser or microwave.

[UbonGhostrider]

I hope you guys do all that strip mining on the other side so we don't have to look at it. {:>)

[SunkenCiv]

:') Schmitt was the natural choice mainly because he was the protege' of the original choice, Eugune Shoemaker, who'd had his adrenal cortex fail years before the missions launched.

"While useful for studying fusion, reactors operating with deuterium-tritium fuel are impractical for commercial use. Among other things, the reaction produces large amounts of radiation in the form of neutrons."

Another thing that makes 'em impractical is that they don't come close to breakeven, and no convincing sign has emerged that they ever will. :')

The Significance of Helium-3 Fusion
http://fti.neep.wisc.edu/neep533/FALL2001/lecture25.pdf
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=helium+3+fusion

Lunar Helium-3 as an Energy Source, in a nutshell (1999)
http://www.asi.org/adb/02/09/he3-intro.html

He3 casts lustful eyes upon that neutron in the deuterium, and will grab it if it gets a chance. We give it a chance by introducing the He3 to the deuterium at a high temperature... The deuterium and helium-3 atoms come together to give off a proton and helium-4. The products weigh less than the initial components; the missing mass is converted to energy. 1 kg of helium-3 burned with 0.67 kg of deuterium gives us about 19 megawatt-years of energy output. The fusion reaction time for the D-He3 reaction becomes significant at a temperature of about 10 KeV, and peaks about about 200 KeV. A 100 KeV (or so) reactor looks about optimum.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

nuclear fuel

Those two words will make sure that this NEVER happens.

[KevinDavis]

There is gold in them hills!

[KevinDavis]

Worst movie ever...

[mudblood]

Anyone ever read, "Mining the sky"? Great read, talks about Helium-3 in both regolith and the upper atmosphere of Uranus/Neptune/Jupiter, the composition of asteroids, the technology needed to grab it. Also, just a fun book to read - a page turner.