Post #72948 by DawnTiki on Tue, Jan 27, 2004 6:16 PM

Mining the Moon:
Moon's Helium-3 Could Power Earth

Researchers and space enthusiasts see helium 3 as the perfect fuel source: extremely potent, nonpolluting, with virtually no radioactive by-product. Proponents claim it’s the fuel of the 21st century. The trouble is, hardly any of it is found on Earth. But there is plenty of it on the moon.
Scientists believe moon rocks contain all the energy the United States needs for the next millennium.
The moon’s surface is full of the energy source helium-3.
If we could land the space shuttle on the moon, fill the cargo with canisters of helium-3 mined from the surface and bring the shuttle back to Earth, that cargo would supply the entire electrical power needs of the United States for an entire year.

(Insert political leaders name here) plans to create a permanent lunar base.
A professor at the Fusion Technology Institute, said helium-3 provides one million times more energy per pound than a ton of coal.
Fusion of helium-3 does not produce greenhouse emissions, and mining it would do little environmental harm.
The moon doesn’t have air or water. So, there won’t be any of that kind of pollution,” he said.
Helium-3 is found in the top few feet of lunar soil. To access it, miners would shovel up the surface, bake it and isolate the gas.
Researchers still are working on building a helium-3 reactor that would produce more energy than it takes in.
Scientists estimate the moon probably holds more than 1 million metric tons of helium-3 on its surface, more than enough energy to provide the nation with more than 1,000 years of electricity.