A potential gas source found on the moon's surface could hold the key to meeting future energy demands as the earth's fossil fuels dry up in the coming decades, scientists say. Mineral samples from the moon contain abundant quantities of helium 3, a variant of the gas used in lasers and refrigerators. "When compared to the earth the moon has a tremendous amount of helium 3," Lawrence Taylor, a director of the US Planetary Geosciences Institute, said. "When helium 3 combines with deuterium (an isotope of hydrogen) the fusion reaction proceeds at a very high temperature and it can produce awesome amounts of energy."Just 25 tonnes of helium, which can be transported on a space shuttle, is enough to provide electricity for the US for one full year."Helium 3 is deposited on the lunar surface by solar winds and would have to be extracted from moon soil and rocks. To extract helium 3 gas the rocks have to be heated above 800 degrees Celsius.Dr Taylor says 200 million tonnes of lunar soil would produce one tonne of helium.Only 10 kilograms of helium are available on earth.

Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam has told the International Conference on Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon that the barren planet held about 1 million tonnes of helium 3. "The moon contains 10 times more energy in the form of helium 3 than all the fossil fuels on the earth," Mr Kalam said. However, Dr Taylor says that the reactor technology for converting helium 3 to energy is still in its infancy and could take years to develop. "The problem is that there is not yet an efficient type of reactor to process helium 3," he said.

View: Full Article | Source: abc.net.au

Righty-ho boys we've buggered up planet earth , what next ...i know the moon !!

Now THAT is incredible.

'Tis indeed, but "Just" 25 tonnes of helium from the moon to Earth is incredible too... just 25 tonnes... jesus christ heh...

Eventually, H3 promises to serve as fuel for a third generation reactor capable of producing electricity directly from the fuel, as opposed to first creating heat, then transforming it into electricity. As it stands, however, our level of technology has only theoretical plans for a first generation H3 processor. Without the lunar dust to work with, we aren't going to be able to develop much more.

I was wondering since it did not talk about this aspect...

if anyone know. Did they think about looking about the envirromental aspect of it?
Would it be yet another pollution agent?

If not great, but if there his a doubt that it could very well have a bad effect on our envirroment..I would be the first to disagree on funding the project.

also I was thinking. The moon as some effect on our planet, like the ocean tides. If we keep diging there, what consequences could it have.

I found this a very good idea, but have they even tried to think about all the consequences it could entails, both on the moon, the realtionship between the moon and us, and then on our planet?

I wouldn't get to excited yet. Most of this is 1988 ideas from The U.W.
Wisconsin . Most of the time the Goverment stops funding when profits are to be
made or lost by large companys in positions of economice power,(AKA-BIG OIL).

Well hopefully this can be used as another reason for us to go back to the moon and set up a premanent base there, so that once we have teh capabilities to actually use this helium 3 we will already have the resources available to basically immediately start harvesting it!

as you all know--i usually find very little NASA is doing to be more than a waste of $$$ . but every once in a while something comes along that could work.

25 tons is not that much , and if this can actually power all the earths needs for a year-- it could be a good thing.


if NASA is to have a real mission--other than to waste $$$, they should do this.