Lunar Helium 3

Helium 3, a precious resource on Earth.

What might be the commercial uses of lunar exploration? What does the Moon have that is rare on the Earth? One answer that holds promise for profitable exploration of the moon is Helium 3, or He-3 (a stable isotope of Helium containing 2 protons and 1 neutron). As with all of our precious resources, the issues center on supply and demand, and even Congress is beginning to address the He-3 shortage.(1)

The Supply Side of the Equation

On Earth, He-3 is produced as a byproduct of nuclear weapons development through the decay of tritium (a radioactive isotope of Hydrogen with 1 proton and 2 neutrons). Therefore the production of He-3 has dwindled as our nuclear weapons program has been scaled back.

The Demand Side of the Equation

While the supply has been shrinking, the demand for He-3 has been steadily increasing. After 9/11, the demand for effective neutron detection systems increased for homeland security – and He-3 is an excellent neutron absorber. In addition, the properties of He-3 make it very desirable for medical resonance imaging. And there are a number of research and academic demands, including the use of He-3 for low-temperature cryogenic physics. The result is that the current price of He-3 is on the order of $7,000/gram, and projections are that the price of could rise as high as $70,000/g within the next 5 years.(2)

Helium 3 Supply

Helium 3 demand

Helium 3 Supply and Demand(1)

Is the Moon a Source of He-3?

The Moon's surface contains Helium 3 at concentrations on the order of 0.01 ppm in sunlit areas, and concentrations as much as five times higher in permanently shadowed regions.(3) According to “The Helium 3 Supply Crisis: Implications For U. S. National Security, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 8/17/10, there are at least 1 Million tons of He-3 imbedded in the lunar surface. He-3 concentrations have been verified from the 6 Apollo landings and the Russian Luna missions. By heating the lunar regolith, He-3 is released. As noted in this University of Wisconsin-Madison source, there are techiques for focusing solar radiation to create the temperatures required to efficiently extract He-3, and a case is made that lunar He-3 can be commercially viable in the coming decades.

So who is pursuing this Helium 3 opportunity?

Cosmochemist and geochemist Ouyang Ziyuan from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who is now in charge of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, has already stated on many occasions that one of the main goals of the program would be the mining of He-3. And in January 2006, the Russian space company RKK Energiya announced that it considers lunar He-3 a potential economic resource to be mined by 2020.(3)

Could the Rocket City Space Pioneers help to solve this demand in the future?

Bob Berinato, Dynetics

Sources

1. The Helium 3 Shortage: Supply, Demand, and Options for Congress, 9/21/10
2. The Helium 3 Supply Crisis: Implications For U.S. National Security, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 8/17/10
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3


 

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