Mining the Moon

American Scientist ^ | Paul D. Spudis

[KevinDavis]

Of the 12 men who have walked on the moon, the last to set foot there, Harrison (Jack) Schmitt, is the only one with scientific training (he has a Ph.D. in geology). He has seen and done things most scientists only dream of. Schmitt's work on the Moon in 1972 ranks as one of the most exciting and productive episodes in the history of exploration. His memories of the three days he spent in the Valley of Taurus-Littrow are a priceless treasure trove of scientific and aesthetic insights. Unfortunately, those experiences are not the subject of his new book, Return to the Moon.

Instead, the volume is structured as a legal brief, in which Schmitt makes the case for returning to the Moon to mine the isotope helium-3. He claims that because fossil fuels are limited in supply and because their extraction and use harm the environment, our rapidly industrializing world requires new sources of energy. The ultimate solution, he suggests, is the generation of power by nuclear fusion—not of deuterium and tritium, as is usually proposed, but of deuterium and helium-3.

[KevinDavis]

[tallhappy]

Thanks for posting this. That we haven't doe this or begun after almost 40 years of landing there is a bigger problem for us than illegal immigration or what have you.

We just gave up as a country a long time ago.

[DBrow]

I think he has the cart before the horse- FIRST we get practical fusion power using He-3, THEN we go mine it.

After we figure out HOW to mine it economically.

[George - the Other]

"We just gave up as a country a long time ago."

Hopefully, that spirit will return. When I was growing up in the 1950's - 60's, I thought for sure we'd be more busy in space, especially with our moon.

I saw that show on PBS the other night about the Cassini project, which was certainly inspiring, but we need to do more.

[KellyAdmirer]

Schmitt then devotes two chapters to his idiosyncratic take on how NASA should be reorganized to regain the management prowess lost since the end of the Apollo program.

"Idiosyncratic" or not, at least he recognizes the problem, which is a start. I don't know about this whole fusion idea, whether it will happen in my lifetime or not, but I'm glad someone in the space program still has some kind of imagination.

[DBrow]

We just gave up as a country a long time ago.

Well, maybe. It could be that sending 12 guys to the Moon was considered to be a huge crowning achievement that it would have been a tough act to follow.

It was tied up in national pride and a race with the Russians to prove who was stronger and smarter.

Once we came back from the Moon, the Russians were not too interested in going there themselves, they were running low on funds, and the Great Society was eating cash in the USA.

What would we have done next? A semipermanent Moon Base? A manned Mars mission? A big orbital station like Chesley Bonestell used to paint? All great projects, but way beyond what we did going to the Moon.

I hope someday we start to look up and out again. Mining He-3 is probably not going to do it, but maybe mining heavies from asteroids will be an incentive.

[A message]

Mining the moon, asteroids, other planets, farming Mars.

I am a big believer in this future for humankind.

It is this future ahead of us that make it clear maniacs like that professor who wants 90% of humanity to die need to be locked up and the key thrown away.

The future awaits us. Jerks who want to destroy us are shallow, feeble minded, selfish, irresponsible, zits on the face of our destiny.

[Jack Black]

Space should be left to free enterprise. The X prize is the way forward. NASA are a bunch of boobs who have saddled us with a monster launch vehicle that is expensive and dangerous. The Apollo technology was way better.

[Vaquero]

[Kurt_Hectic]

agree... we mine it when it makes economically sense to mine it, not before...

[LuxMaker]

We should be coming up with plans to mine He-3 economically now, not later. If you want to do He-3 fusion research you are going to need a sufficient quantity first. It is kind of like the chicken and the egg concept, so I believe they are on the right track.

[Element187]

Curious what removing mass from the moon will do to the gravitational pull of the earth? could be a disaster in the long run.

[Fitzcarraldo]

Shouldn't they demonstrate that the He-3 reaction will be economic BEFORE they go back to the moon?

[MeanWestTexan]

I am quite confident that our scratching of the surface will have no impact.

More mass is gained and lost by solar winds and dust than we could ever dream of removing.

[Getready]

eventually, if the moon gains mass from impacts, looses
speed from drag, the earth gains the moons mass that is
brought here, and the earth gains mass from impacts minus
what we loose to atmospheric drain, I guess the
gravitational attraction of the moon and earth will
change, and a new distance between the bodies will result,
but has someone ever worked out those kind of numbers, and
projected it from 4 billion years ago to 4 billion years
out? Would be an interesting simulation. I wonder at what
orbital speed the moon would need to stay in orbit, or
would it just move out farther, or would the fall vector
be greater than the straight line vector, and the moon
would fall to earth? Talk about moon over miami.

[fragrant abuse]

LOL!

[ksen]

What's the chance of private companies coming up with the financing and doing it?

If we wait on the government then space will never be exploited....er, explored. ;^)

[Fitzcarraldo]

If there was good reason to believe He-3 from the moon would be economic, the govt. would be pouring $$$ into it - the He-3 energy production concept still appears to have many engineering hurdles - not just supply of He-3 - to overcome.

[fragrant abuse]

You're right - He-3 fusion needs to be proven before we start seriously thinking about how to mine He-3 on the moon.

Still, I like how this guy thinks and we SHOULD be going back - for exploration, defense and national pride just for starters.

Personally, I've always fancied running my own moon-based solar farm and using microwaves to beam power back to Earth. Everything we need to build photovoltaic cells we can find on the moon.

:)

[Fitzcarraldo]

AI and nanotech will eclipse the need for large-scale manned operations to acomplish these tasks - the $$$ should be going into those areas first.

[aruanan]

Curious what removing mass from the moon will do to the gravitational pull of the earth? could be a disaster in the long run.

Given how much crap from space is falling to earth and to the surface of the moon each year, it probably wouldn't make any difference at all.

[fragrant abuse]

True - smart nanorobots could cover a chunk of the moon's surface in photovoltaic cells and generate vast amounts of solar energy.

But it saddens me to think that our technologies might become so sophisticated that it makes no economic sense to send humans to carry out tasks in space and on other planets that can be more efficiently and cheaply carried out by robots.

To me there is something deeply powerful and uplifting - heck, even spiritual - in those images of men walking on the moon. I want to see that again and in the future on Mars and other planets.

Even if our robots got as smart as us, we'd want a few folks up there taking care of things, wouldn't we?

[Fitzcarraldo]

But it saddens me to think that our technologies might become so sophisticated that it makes no economic sense to send humans to carry out tasks in space and on other planets that can be more efficiently and cheaply carried out by robots.

A some point, robotic factories will churn out the space colonies and the means to get people to them. Be patient. The trick is to eliminate sticker shock using all-space derived materials and energy sources.

[TomSmedley]

To me there is something deeply powerful and uplifting - heck, even spiritual - in those images of men walking on the moon. I want to see that again and in the future on Mars and other planets.

I pray I'll one day be able to look into the night sky, and invoke God's blessings on grandchildren pursuing their vocations on the moon, and Mars.

[fragrant abuse]

Amen to that.

[fragrant abuse]

KD, I don't always post but I always read. Thanks once again for your great posts.

:)

[Triggerhippie]

Of the 12 men who have walked on the moon, the last to set foot there, Harrison (Jack) Schmitt, is the only one with scientific training (he has a Ph.D. in geology).

Edwin Aldrin PhD (MIT) http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/aldrin.htm

Neil Armstrong Bachelor of Science(Purdue) http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/armstron.htm

CPT Charles Conrad Bachelor of Science (Princeton) http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/conrad.htm

CPT Alan Bean Bachelor of Science (UT) http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/bean.htm

ADM Alan Shepard Bachelor of Science (Navy) http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/shepard.htm

CPT Edgar Mitchell PhD (MIT) http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/er/seh/mitchell.htm

COL David Scott Master of Science (MIT) http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/scott-dr.html

COL James Irwin Master of Science (UMich) http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/irwin-jb.html

CPT John Young Bachelor of Science (GATech) http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/young.html

BG Charles Duke Master of Science (MIT) http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/duke-cm.html

CPT Eugene Cernan Master of Science (USN Postgrad School) http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/cernan-ea.html

Basic fact checking... they ALL had scientific training.

[NonValueAdded]

Schmitty!!!!

[RightWhale]

he has the cart before the horse- FIRST we get practical fusion power using He-3, THEN we go mine it. After we figure out HOW to mine it economically

No kidding. It is amusing to watch the US and China proposing a race to the He-3 while neither has an actual use for it at present. It might be enlightening to design a mining plan for that environment, which would have to include mining equipment other than Cat diesel buckets.

[Fitzcarraldo]

It is amusing to watch the US and China proposing a race to the He-3 while neither has an actual use for it at present.

The picture of folly. $100 billion spent on conventional hardware to get to the moon, only to discover later there are better energy sources - versus - spending a fraction of that amount - say $10 billion - on improving AI and nanotech capabilities that would assist us in all future space operations AS WELL AS millions of Earth applications - SPINOFFS before the fact! We need to start thinking straight here.

[RightWhale]

It is kind of funny that NASA was to have this partnership betwen men and robots as we go back into space, but so far all we have seen is a few sponsored robotics competitions in schools and conceptual illustrations of yet more huge rockets and spacecraft that can carry 4-6 men to the moon to stay for a year at a time.

[SunkenCiv]

related:

Mining The Moon
popular mechanics | October 18, 2004 | HARRISON H. SCHMITT
Posted on 12/28/2004 10:07:24 PM EST by demlosers
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1309896/posts

[SunkenCiv]

also related:

Mining The Moon
Science News Online | 10-25-2005 | Ron Cowen
Posted on 10/25/2005 7:50:05 PM EDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1509195/posts

Mining the moon for energy on Earth
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Jan. 19, 2004 | By SUSANNE QUICK
Posted on 01/21/2004 4:51:15 PM EST by Darkshadow
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/1062431/posts

more general:

On to the Moon, and to Mars, via von Braun
New York Times | January 14, 2004 | KENNETH CHANG
Posted on 01/14/2004 9:14:40 AM EST by OESY
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1057694/posts

NASA picks rocket for return to Moon
Flight International | 08/23/05
Posted on 08/23/2005 10:24:12 PM EDT by KevinDavis
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1469373/posts

[a number of others relate to He3 mining on the Moon]

[SunkenCiv]

Google

[Fitzcarraldo]

Quite honestly I think many of us are trapped in a space exploration paradigm that extrapolates how we should do things on the basis of conventional technology. In space, conventional technology will always cost too much. We need better tools.

[RightWhale]

I have a couple microcontroller development kits from a large electronics corporation. They are cheap, one is only half the cost of the Lego robotic toy kit, and they include the board, the interface to any late-model PC, a high-level programming compiler, a library of robotics functions, and a couple LEDs or a motor so you can see the thing actually trying to do what you program it to do. This is the kind of thing we could be doing across the country rather than wait for NASA to get inspired. Robotics is still an infant in the cradle: nearly nothing has been done after all these years of the Berserker story series aside from some primitive military applications and the DARPA dune buggy races.

[Cincinatus]

Schmitt was the only "Scientist-Astronaut" (i.e., one who was selected specifically because of his scientific expertise in a selected discipline) that flew to the Moon. The rest were all pilots (almost entirely with an engineering background) of varying degree of experience and technical training.