China's New Moon Mission Blasts Off -Is Mining Helium 3 the Ultimate Goal?

[notesdev]

A daunting new mission to the Moon was launched Tuesday by the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA). Chang’e-1 blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, Sichuan, atop a Long March 3A rocket -the first step in the Chinese ambition to land robotic explorers on the Moon before 2020.

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"Helium-3 is considered as a long-term, stable, safe, clean and cheap material for human beings to get nuclear energy through controllable nuclear fusion experiments," Ziyuan added. "If we human beings can finally use such energy material to generate electricity, then China might need 10 tons of helium-3 every year and in the world, about 100 tons of helium-3 will be needed every year."

Helium 3 fusion energy - classic Buck Rogers propulsion system- may be the key to future space exploration and settlement, requiring less radioactive shielding, lightening the load. Scientists estimate there are about one million tons of helium 3 on the moon, enough to power the world for thousands of years. The equivalent of a single space shuttle load or roughly 25 tons could supply the entire United States' energy needs for a year.

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2007/10/chinas-new-moon.html

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My comment: The moon is full of energy that, if harnessed, could alleviate untold human suffering in the energy crunch that the
world has begun to experience, as we deplete the accessible resources in this planet.

I confess that this makes me a little bit upset that it is China doing this and not us. The potential payoff is quite literally astronomical. What really twists the knife is that WE thought of this - why aren't we the ones doing it?

Cross reference:

US: UW scientists want to mine moon energy
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/192

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I hear your pain. I mourn our 30 year stagnation in our space exploration & development.

Yes, we still put things in orbit around the earth and yes we do vital experiments up there as well, but there hasn't been any real progress in how we get there or how we can go farther, to the moon or elsewhere. I know a lot of it boils down to funding, but as a real space nut it depresses me, especially if there could truly be some value coming from the idea of using Helium-3 as an energy source.

[TomClash]

2. "why aren't we the ones doing it?"

Because "WE" are a collapsing Empire that still controls most of the world's energy.

[imdjh]

3. I don't want the government interfering with my moon.

[notesdev]

4. I gotta admit

that was pretty funny! Seriously, though, if we want to sink a trillion dollars into new economic activity, this is going to give more payback than any other option.