Moon Treasure - Helium-3
Even before the lunar missions of the USSR and the USA, a small amount of helium-3 was found on our planet, then this fact interested the scientific community. Helium-3, with its unique intra-atomic structure, promised scientists fantastic prospects. If helium-3 can be used in a nuclear fusion reaction, it will be possible to get a tremendous amount of electricity without sinking in the dangerous radioactive waste that is produced at nuclear power plants regardless of our desire. The extraction of helium-3 on the Moon and its subsequent delivery to Earth is not an easy task, but at the same time, those who get involved in this adventure can become the owner of a stunning reward. Helium-3 is the substance that will be able to permanently rid the world of "drug addiction" - fossil fuels, an oil needle.
On Earth, helium-3 is fatally short. A huge amount of helium originates in the Sun, but a small fraction of it is helium-3, and the bulk of it is much more common helium-4. As long as these isotopes move as part of the “solar wind” towards the Earth, both isotopes undergo changes. So precious for earthlings, helium-3 does not reach our planet, as it is thrown away by the Earth’s magnetic field. At the same time, there is no magnetic field on the moon, and here helium-3 can freely accumulate in the surface layer of the soil.
Nowadays, scientists consider our natural satellite not only as a natural astronomical observatory and source of energy resources, but also as a future reserve continent for earthlings. At the same time, it is the inexhaustible source of space fuel that is the most attractive and promising. A new possible continent for earthlings is at a distance of only 380 thousands of kilometers from our planet, with some kind of global catastrophe on Earth there might well have been a shelter for people. From the moon, without any hindrances, one can observe other celestial objects, so on Earth this is interfered to some extent by the atmosphere. But the main thing is the inexhaustible reserves of energy, which, according to scientists, would be enough for humanity for 15 000 years. In addition, there are stocks of rare metals on the moon: titanium, barium, aluminum, zirconium, and that's not all, scientists say. Today, mankind is only at the very beginning of the path to the exploration of the moon.
Currently, China, India, USA, Russia, Japan - all these countries are in line for the Moon, and these countries are becoming more and more. Another surge of interest in the moon began in the middle of the 90s of the last century. Then in the scientific community there was an assumption that there could be water on the moon. Not so long ago, the American LRO probe with the Russian Lend device was finally confirmed - there really is water on the Moon (in the form of ice at the bottom of craters) and there is a lot of it here (up to 600 million tons), and this solves many problems.
The presence of water on the moon is especially valuable, as it can solve a large number of various problems that will arise when building lunar bases. Water will not have to be delivered from Earth, it can be processed directly on the spot, notes Igor Mitrofanov, head of the laboratory of space gamma spectroscopy at IKI. According to some calculations, with due desire and funding, humankind could have settled on our natural satellite in 15 years already. In this case, most likely, the first inhabitants of the Moon would live on its poles near large stocks of detected water.
However, much on the moon would have to get used to the new - even to such a process as walking. It is much easier to jump on the Moon, that gravity is less in 6 than on Earth, Neil Armstrong was convinced in his time when 40 first years ago set foot on the surface of a given celestial body. At the same time, the main enemy of man on the moon at present is radiation, the options for saving from which there are not so many. According to Lev Green Director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, there is no magnetic field on our natural satellite. All radiation from the Sun gets to the Moon and it is quite difficult to defend against it.
At the same time, the fact that the Moon should become the first step for the advancement of man in space is an indisputable fact, says Lev the Green. According to him, the Moon can become a transit point for launches to other planets of the solar system. Also here it will be possible to place an early warning station about the approach to Earth of dangerous space objects: comets and asteroids, which is quite important in the light of recent events. However, the most important thing there is - helium-3, perhaps the space fuel of the future. It is hard to believe, but the dark gray dust lining the entire surface of the moon is the pantry of this unique substance.
Oil and gas on the planet does not last forever. According to some experts, without special problems, humanity will live on these resources of the order of 40 years. Today, nuclear power plants are the only alternative, but this is not so safe due to radiation. At the same time, the fusion reaction involving helium-3 is environmentally friendly. According to scientists, nothing better has been thought out yet and there are at least 2 reasons for this. Firstly, it is a very efficient thermonuclear fuel, and secondly, which is even more valuable, it is environmentally friendly, says Eric Galimov, director of the Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. IN AND. Vernadsky.
According to the calculations of Vladislav Shevchenko, the head of the research department of the Moon and planets of the State Astronomical Institute of Moscow State University, the helium-3 reserves on the Earth’s natural satellite will last thousands of years. According to experts, the minimum amount of helium-3 on the Moon is about 500 thousand tons, according to more optimistic estimates there are no less than 10 million tons. In a fusion reaction, when 0,67 tons of deuterium enter the reaction and 1 ton of helium-3, energy is released that is equivalent to the combustion energy of 15 million tons of oil. It is worth noting the fact that at present it is still necessary to study the technical feasibility of carrying out such reactions.
And the extraction of this substance on the moon will not be easy. Although helium-3 is located in the surface layer, its concentration in it is very low. The main problem at this time remains the reality of the extraction of helium from the lunar regolith. The content of the required energy of helium-3 is approximately 1 grams per 100 tons of lunar soil. This means that for the extraction of 1 tons of this isotope will need to process at least 100 million tons of lunar soil.
At the same time, helium-3 will have to be separated from unnecessary helium-4, the concentration of which in the regolith is thousands of times more in 3. According to Eric Galimov, in order to extract a ton of helium-1 on the moon 3, as mentioned above, 100 million tons of lunar soil will be processed. We are talking about the site of the moon with a total area of about 20 square kilometers, which will need to be processed to a depth of 3 meters! In this case, the very procedure of delivering to Earth 1 tons of this fuel will cost at least 100 million dollars. But in fact, even this very large amount is only 1% of the cost of energy that can be extracted at a fusion power plant from this raw material.
Shevchenko estimates that the cost of 1 tonnes of helium-3, given the creation of all the necessary infrastructure for its extraction and delivery to Earth, could be 1 billion dollars. At the same time, the transportation of 25 tons of helium-3 to Earth will cost us 25 billion dollars, which is not such a large amount, given that this scale of fuel is enough to provide people with energy for a whole year. The benefit of such an energy carrier becomes obvious if we calculate that only the United States spends about 40 billion dollars on energy carriers per year.
According to calculations made by the American astronaut Harrison Schmitt, the use of helium-3 in the earth's energy, taking into account all the costs of shipping and mining, becomes payable and commercially viable when the production of fusion energy using this raw material will exceed the power of 5 GW. In fact, this suggests that even 1 lunar-powered power stations will be enough to make delivery to Earth cost-effective. According to Schmitt estimates, the amount of upfront costs at the research stage will be about 15 billion dollars.
One of the possible options for the extraction of helium-3 was proposed by Eric Galimov. In order to organize the extraction of the isotope from the lunar surface, he proposes to heat the regolith to 700 degrees Celsius. After that it can be liquefied and removed to the surface. From the point of view of modern technology, these procedures are fairly simple and well known. The Russian scientist proposes to heat the raw material in special “solar ovens”, which, with the help of large concave mirrors, will focus sunlight on the regolite. At the same time from the lunar soil can be distinguished contained in it: oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen. And this means that the lunar industry could produce not only raw materials for the terrestrial energy complex, but also rocket fuel for the rockets carrying it, as well as air and water for people working at lunar enterprises. Currently in the United States are also working on similar projects.
But this is not all that the lunar soil can give us. In regolith there is a high content of titanium, which in the long term will help organize the production of elements of the corps of rockets and industrial structures directly on the Earth’s natural satellite. In this case, only high-tech elements of rockets, computers and instruments will have to be delivered to the moon. And this may open a second promising direction for the entire lunar economy - the construction of the most economical cosmodrome, the scientific base for the study of the entire solar system.
Information sources:
-http: //www.vesti.ru/doc.html? id = 1038894
-http: //www.popmech.ru/article/4098-lunnyie-sokrovischa
-http: //vzglyadzagran.ru/news/sverxderzhavy-rodyatsya-na-lune-gelij-3.html
-http: //ria.ru/science/20120725/709192459.html
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