How would helium-3 be mined?
How would helium-3 be mined?
This helium-3 could potentially be extracted by heating the lunar dust to around 600 degrees C, before bringing it back to the Earth to fuel a new generation of nuclear fusion power plants.
How much is a gram of helium-3?
$1400 per gram
At $1400 per gram, one hundred kilograms (220 pounds) of helium-3 would be worth about $140 million. One hundred kilograms constitutes more than enough fuel to potentially power a 1000 megawatt electric plant for a year when fused with deuterium, the terrestrially abundant heavy isotope of hydrogen.
Is helium-3 fusion possible?
A deuterium and helium-3 fusion creates helium and charged protons as byproducts and few or no radioactive particles. The main disadvantage of fusion using helium-3 is that it would take a far greater amount of energy to achieve it than the conventional deuterium and tritium variety.
Where can I get helium-3?
The abundance of helium-3 is thought to be greater on the Moon than on Earth, having been embedded in the upper layer of regolith by the solar wind over billions of years, though still lower in abundance than in the Solar System’s gas giants.
Why is there no helium-3 on Earth?
Other than 1H, helium-3 is the only stable isotope of any element with more protons than neutrons. Its presence is rare on Earth, it is sought after for use in nuclear fusion research, and it is abundant in the moon’s soil.
How much is an ounce of helium-3 worth?
Twenty parts per billion may not seem like much; however, the value of helium-3 relative to the probable energy equivalent value of coal in 2010-2020, estimated conservatively at $2.50 per million BTU (0.25 x 106kcal) will be almost $1400 per gram ($40,000 per ounce)!
Is China mining helium-3 in space?
In Space Force, American scientists suspect that the Chinese government is mining helium-3, although this suspicion is never confirmed. Does this plot point have real-world truth behind it? Yes, but it might be outdated. Articles published in 2016 from PBS and Space Safety Magazine both note that China is exploring helium-3.
Is it possible to mine helium-3 on the Moon?
An academic paper from 2014 presented at the 40th COSPAR Scientific Assembly in Moscow, titled “Feasibility of lunar Helium-3 mining,” explored the many difficulties. “The required heating power, if mining both day and night, would add up to 39 GW.
Is helium 3 a safe fusion fuel?
Not everyone is in agreement that Helium 3 will produce a safe fusion solution. In an article entitled “Fears over Factoids” in 2007, the theoretical physicist Frank Close famously described the concept as “moonshine”. Either way, it seems we will have to be patient to find out the answers.