 Both
the U.S. and China have announced plans to go to the
Moon, probably to get hold of the valuable helium-3
there, which would solve the world's energy problems.
While there haven't been any official announcements
about it, the Bush administration clearly realizes there
is an impending oil shortage. One reason we've gone into
Iraq is to secure the oil there. Are we planning to go
to the Moon for the same reason?
However, we may never be
able to mine the valuable helium- 3 from the surface of
the Moon because it doesn't contain enough water to set
up a mining operation. Despite this, President Bush
seems determined to set up a permanent base there. In
the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Susanne Quick quotes
nuclear engineer Gerald Kulcinski as saying, "If we
could land… on the Moon, fill the cargo with canisters
of helium-3 mined from the surface and bring the shuttle
back to Earth, that cargo would supply the entire
electrical power needs of the United States for an
entire year."
Fusion researcher John
Santarius says helium-3 could provide 1 million times
more energy per pound than a ton of coal. Kulcinski says
it "doesn't produce greenhouse emissions. It's safe
for the environment” because “the Moon doesn't have
air or water, so there won't be any of that kind of
pollution."
Helium-3 is found in the
top few feet of lunar soil. It's easy to mine with
simple shovels and would cause no permanent scars on the
surface. Kulcinski says, "We might smooth out some
of the smaller [bumps on the surface]," but they
wouldn't be noticeable from Earth. The "Man in the
Moon" would still look the same.
Kulcinski and Santarius
think the future of energy is in fusion, which combines
atoms to create energy, unlike fission, which splits
them apart. Using helium-3 produces very little
radioactivity, but there’s only one problem: this
element is extremely rare on Earth.
Kulcinski thought more of
it might be available on the Moon, so he asked NASA to
examine lunar rocks that were collected during Apollo
missions. They found the rocks contained lots of
helium-3. There’s only one question: Can a mining
operation be set up on the Moon without the presence of
water?
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