With NASA and private aerospace companies exploring taking first moves toward establishing long-term settlements on Mars, landing a man on the moon is no longer isolated to science fiction. Mining for natural resources beneath the moon's surface could be the following step and hold the key to solving Earth's growing energy crisis.
Nobody has stepped a foot to the moon for how many years now. Even if a successful lunar mission were to land, the equipment required to drill on the moon would be an engineering and logistical challenge unlike any other.
BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 12: The moon is seen behind trees as the early morning sunlight breaks through leaves that are beginning to change color in Victoria Park on October 12, 2009, in Bath, England. England, particularly in the south, is currently enjoying a spell of dry, fine weather, allowing the beginning of the Autumn foliage colors - brought on by shortening daylight hours and cooler weather - to be fully appreciated.
What is Helium-3?
Leaps.org said Helium-3 (He-3) is abundant on the moon, but it is rare on Earth due to our magnetic field, which prevents solar winds from sweeping it into the atmosphere. Because of the tiny molecules, it bonds with, He-3 can readily escape gravity and travel to space, where it is found on Earth.
He-3 is a desirable nuclear fusion component since it is non-radioactive, produces no harmful by-products, and cannot manufacture nuclear weapons.
Tritium, which is also on the moon in small numbers, is utilized in the fusion reactors at ITER, France (per Nature) and Culham, Oxfordshire (per World Nuclear News). It necessitates specialized shielding due to its high radiation dose rates. It is a necessary item in making a nuclear explosion.
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Explaining The Future said Helium 3 can be used as a fuel in future nuclear fusion power plants, releasing significant amounts of energy without generating radioactivity. But a part of it on the Moon has been a source of contention.
Moon Can Solve Earth's Energy Crisis
Scientists said per Wales Online that the moon could solve future energy concerns since scientists believe it could be a rich supply of a scarce gas on Earth.
The hypothesis that the moon had a magnetic field that prevented solar winds from depositing gas in its soil has been debunked, a report from Nottingham Post added.
Because ancient lunar soils lack magnetic shielding, they may include records of past solar wind emissions, allowing scientists to better understand the development of the sun by analyzing cores of soil samples.
Dr. John Tarduno, a professor of geophysics at the University of Rochester in the United States said in the same Nottingham Post report that scientists should be looking at the upper end of helium 3 predictions. He said that because there is no magnetic shield on the Moon, more solar wind penetrates the surface, resulting in far deeper helium 3 stores than previously anticipated.
Due to the lack of magnetic shielding, ancient lunar soils may include records of past solar wind emissions, allowing scientists to better understand the sun's evolution by analyzing cores of soil samples.
With the context supplied by our research, scientists will better plan the next batch of lunar experiments.
These tests could concentrate on existing lunar resources and how we might use them and the historical record of what is trapped in lunar soil.
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