China: exploring the capabilities of helium from the moon can help solve the energy crisis on Earth

The dust from the lunar soil brought by the first humans on the Moon contained an abundance of titanium, Platinum and other valuable minerals. But our satellite also contains a substance that can be quite useful to the human civilization and could revolutionize energy production.

This substance, the helium-3 (He-3) is deposited on the Moon in vast quantities by solar winds. Helium 3 is a non-radioactive isotope of helium. Has two protons and one neutron. His presence on Earth is rare, but is a very popular substance for use in nuclear fusion research. It is also used in MRI machines and sensors that detect smuggled plutonium.

Now, China is considering the possibility of exploiting this resource from lunar soil, bringing it back to Earth. According to some scientists, this rare isotope could have the ability to meet the future energy needs of the planet, writes the Times.

Ouyang Resources, Chief Scientist of the Chinese Lunar Exploration program, said recently that the Moon is "so rich in He-3 that this substance can solve the problem of energy demand over the next 10,000 years at least," quotes the Daily Mail.

Scientists argue that the He-3 can power nuclear plants, but cleanly, since it is a non-radioactive substance.

For example, two spaceships loaded with the substance â€" about 40 tons â€" could be sufficient to meet the energy needs of the United States for a year. This would require the exploration of areas the size of Washington, D.C.

The Ho-3 is rare on Earth due to the atmosphere and magnetic field protect us, but also prevent the He-3 from the solar wind reaches the Earth's surface. The moon doesn't have this problem because it has no atmosphere and the He-3 is absorbed by the lunar soil.

Fabrizio Bozzato, doctoral candidate at the University of Tamkan in Taiwan, recently wrote a scientific article argues that the He-3 can be extracted from lunar soil at temperatures of around 600 degrees Celsius, before being brought back to Earth. The student estimates that the gas has an economic potential of €2,24 billion per tonne, which makes it economically viable to consider exploring the moon.

According to us experts, the total required for the development of nuclear power stations and spacecraft, and to the start of the operations on the Moon is €14,9 billion over the next two decades.

Although China has already expressed interest to explore this resource is required before any concrete plans to explore the He-3 on the moon.

However, the exploration of the Moon raises controversial questions about who holds our satellite. The UN Treaty for outer space, of which China is a signatory, indicates that the Lunar features are for all humanity. But legal experts contend that the language of the Treaty is ambiguous enough to allow commercial exploitation of the moon.

Foto:  NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center / Creative Commons

If You Enjoyed This, Take 5 Seconds To Share It

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Google+
• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Delicious
• LinkedIn
• Reddit
• Technorati