How Lunar Soil Could Power the Future (helium-3)

LiveScience.com on Yahoo ^ | 8/13/08 | Michael Schirber

[NormsRevenge]

The moon is once again a popular destination, as several space-faring nations are talking about setting up bases there. One reason would be to mine fuel for future fusion reactors.

The fuel in this case is helium-3, a lighter isotope of the helium used in balloons. In high energy collisions, helium-3 fuses with other nuclei to release more energy and less waste than the reactions in traditional nuclear reactors.

"If we can show that we can burn helium-3, it is a much cleaner and safer energy source than other nuclear fuels," said Gerald Kulcinski, director of the Fusion Technology Institute at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Just 40 tons of this stuff has enough potential energy to meet the total U.S. electricity demand for a year. However, there is almost no helium-3 on Earth. The closest supply is on the moon.

Several space agencies, notably in China, Russia and India, have mentioned helium-3 as a potential payoff for their lunar projects.

"I don't think that the main motivation to go back to the moon is helium-3," Kulcinski said. "But over the long-term, we do face an energy problem."

[Hegemony Cricket]

“Lunar Soil” - great name for a garage band. (Solar Soil would also work...)

[NormsRevenge]

“Manhattan Project” time.

Lunar Fusion or Bust!

[garjog]

I read that one idea is to build energy plants on the moon, then beam the energy to earth via microwave. It would mean that you could get energy anywhere with no power lines necessary.

Beam it Down, Scotty!
Above: Imagine providing the Earth or a moon base with harnessed solar power, .... use it to generate an electromagnetic beam and transmit energy to the

http://www.google.com/custom?q=beam%20engery%20from%20moon&client=pub-4099951843714863&forid=1&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&cof=GALT%3A%23999999%3BGL%3A1%3BDIV%3A%23FFFFFF%3BVLC%3A333333%3BAH%3Acenter%3BBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BLBGC%3AFFFFFF%3BALC%3A0033CC%3BLC%3A0033CC%3BT%3A000000%3BGFNT%3AFFFFFF%3BGIMP%3AFFFFFF%3BLH%3A100%3BLW%3A100%3BL%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.hyperwords.net%2Fhy-for-google.gif%3BS%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.hyperwords.net%2F%3BLP%3A1%3BFORID%3A1%3B&hl=en

http://snipurl.com/3fsu0

[SJSAMPLE]

Bust?

[taxcontrol]

Sounds great, lets tell the Dems so they can write a law that mandates the use of He3 in all fusion reactors.

[/sarc]

[Righter-than-Rush]

That would need one loooooooooooooong extension cord.

[NormsRevenge]

Lunar soil

Chapter 8

and

Solar Soil

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Sounds pretty far-fetched. First you assume controlled fusion, then you figure that the recovered fuel still costs $32 billion a year, on top of the capital cost for the powerplants. Very long range program.

[NormsRevenge]

Images Gallery, Apollo 11

[Hegemony Cricket]

Yep - ready made album covers (do they still call them album covers?)

[RipSawyer]

“Lunar Soil” - great name for a garage band. (Solar Soil would also work...)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MOONROCKS would be a much better name.

[NormsRevenge]

I think so. It’s all CDs these days and not vinyl, I never buy music media these days, my wife has a load of stuff and iTunes tho. :-)

[frithguild]

Under the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies of 1967, we are basically precluded from mining operations on the moon. How can any venture raise capital for a venture where in an environment where there is no private property, where there is no privacy and where disputes are resolved by the U.N.:

Article I

The exploration and use of outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the province of all mankind.

Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall be free for exploration and use by all States without discrimination of any kind, on a basis of equality and in accordance with international law, and there shall be free access to all areas of celestial bodies.

There shall be freedom of scientific investigation in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, and States shall facilitate and encourage international co-operation in such investigation. Article II

Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means.

* * *

Article XI

In order to promote international co-operation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, States Parties to the Treaty conducting activities in outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities. On receiving the said information, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should be prepared to disseminate it immediately and effectively.

Article XII

All stations, installations, equipment and space vehicles on the Moon and other celestial bodies shall be open to representatives of other States Parties to the Treatyon a basis of reciprocity. Such representatives shall give reasonable advance notice of a projected visit, in order that appropriate consultations may be held and that maximum precautions may be taken to assure safety and to avoid interference with normal operations in the facility to be visited.

Article XVI

Any State Party to the Treaty may give notice of its withdrawal from the Treaty one year after its entry into force by written notification to the Depositary Governments. Such withdrawal shall take effect one year from the date of receipt of this notification.

http://www.state.gov/t/ac/trt/5181.htm#treaty

We will remain on earth, until the United States withdraws from this treaty. Period.

[JRandomFreeper]

They (the UN) should kiss my hairy nether regions and expire.

That is all. Smoking lamp is illuminated.

/johnny

[biff]

Can’t we just leave the damn moon alone? It has been up there for millions of years silently doing its job.

They are talking about helium 3 from the moon when they can’t even build a mass marketable, decent priced fuel cell????

PS - I think the Shuttle could probably land on the moon ok with an asphalt landing strip but blast off might be kinda iffy. LOL LOL LOL LOL

[Wonder Warthog]

If Robert Bussard’s IEC “Polywell” fusion legacy pans out, we won’t need He3, we’ll be burning Boron + Hydrogen, both of which are in abundant supply here on earth.

[Blood of Tyrants]

"Helium-3 is present on the moon, but in very small concentration levels, meaning that many hundreds of millions of tons of soil must be processed to extract a ton of helium-3,"

Which according to the article is enough to power the US for 9 days. Big whoop.

[Blood of Tyrants]

His team has estimated that it might cost around $800 million to bring back each ton of lunar helium-3.

Which would power the US for 9 days. It would take MONTHS to extract enough helium-3 during which time astronauts would be bombarded by cosmic radiation and quite probably killed.

[tet68]

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