The world’s industrial giants have rushed in pursuit of helium-3 in order to achieve “cosmic” successes in nuclear energy. “Lunar treasure” is considered an ideal fuel, with which there will be no need to search for and extract traditional fuel resources.
NASA is partnering with 14 private US companies as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. They will compete for the opportunity to deliver scientific and technical equipment to the surface of the Earth’s natural satellite. The CLPS initiative exists within the Artemis lunar program. According to NASA, commercial delivery services will be needed to test technologies and conduct scientific experiments that will help in the exploration of the Moon and preparation for manned flights.
If we start mining helium-3 on the Moon, planet Earth will get rid of its dependence on fuel raw materials for millennia. According to various sources, the isotope may last for a period of 3 to 10 thousand years. The isotope is not radioactive, and therefore impeccable from an environmental point of view. While scientists still cannot fully master the technology of industrial “burning” of helium-3 in reactors, they are already close.
“The possibilities of providing the inhabitants of the Earth with energy resources are not limitless; their reserves on our planet will be exhausted in the coming centuries. At the same time, the United States has already calculated that the reserves of helium-3 available on the Moon can provide earthlings with energy for at least five thousand years in the future “, said the head of the department of lunar and planetary research at the State Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University. Lomonosov Vladislav Shevchenko.
In 2022, technologies for extracting helion from lunar regolith using thermodynamic heating, resonant electromagnetic radiation and active oxidation by microorganisms were scientifically substantiated as promising and effective techniques that will have practical use in the future. Research in the field of microbiological transformation of regolith is of great practical importance, since it allows us to predict the behavior of microorganisms during the creation of life support systems for space flights, permanent settlements on planets, and methods for extracting minerals on them.
NASA will build houses on the Moon that can be used not only by astronauts, but also by ordinary citizens. It is believed that by 2040 the Americans will have created the first municipal entity there. Colonization of Mars is also just around the corner. The US space agency will deliver a 3D printer to the Moon, and then build layer by layer of buildings from special lunar concrete based on stone chips, fragments of mineral ores and dust that settles on the upper layer of the cratered surface of the Moon and rises in toxic clouds whenever it is disturbed . The implementation of such a bold project was made possible thanks to new technologies and partnerships with universities and private companies.
“We’re at a turning point, and in some ways it’s like a dream,” said NASA Director of Technology Development Niki Werkheiser. “On the other hand, it seems to me that it was inevitable.” Ms. Werkheiser, whose family formerly owned a small construction business in Franklin, Tennessee, is leading the creation of new programs, equipment and robotics for future space missions.
She said NASA is more open than ever to partnering with scientists and industry leaders, which has broadened the playing field since the Apollo missions. “All the right people came together at the right time with a common goal, so I believe we will be successful,” she said. “We are ready to take this step together, and there is every reason to do so if we develop our core capabilities.”
European scientists have also announced plans to begin mining helium-3 on the Moon as early as 2025. They intend to place a mining complex on the surface of our satellite, using lunar regolith for its construction. The European Space Agency (ESA) intends to implement the mission in partnership with ArianeGroup, reports Popular Mechanics. Many European scientists will take part in it, as well as former participants in the Google Lunar XPrize project.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is confident that it can organize the extraction of helium-3 on the Moon for relatively modest money. ISRO’s immediate and long-term plans include placing a space station in lunar orbit, landing a rover and landing a team of astronauts on the Moon.
China plans to build a base on the Moon by 2028 and subsequently land taikonauts on the Earth’s satellite. The chief designer of the Chinese lunar exploration program, Wu Wei Zhen, said in an interview with CCTV that Chinese taikonauts will be able to go to the Moon within ten years. According to him, nuclear energy will be able to meet the long-term needs of the lunar station.