Energy Lunacy

Image by: NASA 

Embedded within the top layer of lunar soil is an element called He-3 that is valued around $ 57,000 per ounce, approximately 50 times as expensive as gold. Additionally, He-3 is considered to be the perfect fuel for a nuclear fusion reactor and while it is rare on earth, the moon has ample amounts stored on its surface. This discovery of He-3 and platinum group elements gives promise to a new age of space exploration driven by the improvement of the human race. The moon is the last great frontier of bountiful untapped metals and He-3 that must be exploited for economic and environmental benefit, but we must not destroy the moon’s undisturbed archives of the development of the solar system or a cause cold war style scenario here on earth.

Making an economic profit by mining rare elements off the moon and returning them to earth is incredibly difficult but the benefits could be revolutionary. The cost and risk required to get mining equipment from the earth's surface into earth's orbit makes space related ventures very costly. The majority of this cost is in the rocket fuel and the cost of replacing the rocket booster itself. A private American company SpaceX is attempting to design a rocket booster that once its payload is delivered to space, it will be able to have a controlled descent back to earth. This would eliminate the need to build a new rocket every launch, drastically decreasing the cost of delivering materials to orbit(SpaceX Just Made Rocket Launches Affordable. Here’s How It Could Make Them Downright Cheap). In order to make mining the moon feasible, we must return cargo that is as valuable, if not more so than the expenses. Luckily the moon is covered in rich veins of rare earth elements such as the platinum group elements which are valued between $20,000 and $50,000 per kilogram(Why we should mine the moon). With rockets being re-used and moon covered in valuable materials, the possibility and incentive of pursuing its riches is becoming ever more clear.

By Steve Jurvetson on SpaceX

The most promising mining option on the moon would be He-3, the lighter version of the helium in balloons, that could potentially fuel the worlds energy needs for centuries through fusion. He-3’s high price of $57,000 per ounce could potentially make mining it off the moon incredibly profitable. (The new space race between China and the West:Mining the moon). This He-3 is dispensed by the sun but the earth's magnetic field and thick atmosphere blocks the majority from reaching the surface. Having neither of these hindrances the moon has accumulated up to 5 million tons of He-3. Going at a price of $57,000 per ounce with 5,000,000 tons, the value of He-3 on the moon is somewhere in the ballpark of 9,120 trillion dollars. These numbers are undoubtedly skewed considering the GDP of the United States in 2014 was 17.7 trillion. The laws of supply and demand will come into effect once He-3 begins to enter the market, yet these numbers still are eye-opening. Scientists consider He-3 a perfect fuel for fusion reactors is because the reaction itself emits protons instead of neutrons, which can be easily contained by an electric field. The ability to contain the protons emitted means that the reaction emits zero radioactive waste. The He-3 fusion reaction is especially interesting because the reaction itself would produce pure electric current instead of heat. With power plants using fossil fuels, wind energy, hydroelectric power and nuclear fission a generator is necessary to turn the heat or kinetic energy into electricity. The fusion of two He-3 atoms together will produce electricity instantly, no generator need and no loss of energy in conversion(Mining The Moon). A sustainable nuclear fusion process using He-3 would generate endless amounts of clean, free energy supplying the world far into the future(China is going to mine the moon for helium-3 fusion fuel). The moon is a deep well of economic potential that we must take advantage of in order to advance into the next age of mankind. This giant leap for mankind would not be free, as the moon would face environmental consequences that we must consider.

We can see the environmental consequences of our actions on earth in the rising of the average temperature of the globe called climate change. Climate change is caused by deforestation and the release of greenhouses gases which trap heat into our atmosphere. These greenhouse gasses are released from agricultural operations and the burning of fossil fuels. According to “The End of Fossil Fuels”, 11 billion tons of fossil fuels are burned annually each year and our reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas will eventually run out. The solution to this growing energy crisis and climate change could be the moon and the resources it holds. The He-3 embedded in the soil on the moon could produce energy for at least 10,000 years all while being 100% clean. In order to release the He-3 the soil must be collected and heated to 600 degrees celsius and then the He-3 gas must be collected and sent back to earth(The new space race between China and the West:Mining the moon). This process would undoubtedly destroy a small portion of the moons surface. The portions of the moons surface that would be destroyed are minuscule compared to the impacts we have had on the earth's climate since the industrial age. The potential to end fossil fuel consumption and save the earth’s climate overwhelmingly outweighs the loss of a few square kilometers of moon dirt per year. Even so, being environmentally aware about how we mine resources on the moon and the impact that we have is our moral obligation to our celestial neighbor.

The moon is a relatively untouched, near perfect vacuum that holds a record of the development of the solar system which we must respect and treat kindly. Historical information about the formation of the moon and the earth could be determined along with the analysis of meteor craters to determine the composition of the solar system. The historical worries of mining on the moon could be compared to earth’s deforestation. Rain forests on earth have been demolished in the name of progress and we can not let similar actions be taken on the moon(Plans to Mine the Moon Pose Legal Questions: Letters to the Editor). Mining on the moon would require heavy machinery that excavate large portions of the lunar surface for processing. The process that would extract the precious materials would degrade the soil and eliminate any historical evidence hidden there, yet we have been doing similar mining processes on earth. The procedures that mining the moon would require are no different than those that we have been using on earth for hundreds of years, yet we will continue fossil fuel mining indefinitely. On earth we have weighed the pros and cons of mining and obviously the benefits have outweighed the costs. On the moon the benefits of mining are incredibly high while the consequences are minimal. With small amounts of planning we would be able to map the lunar surface and establish regions that are free of important historical information. Consequences from mining the moon can be avoided as long as we are able to suppress any political hostility on earth. The moon will cause high pressured situations between nations if destroying priceless historical evidence on the surface or monopolizing the economic benefit becomes a reality.

By: Gray Lensman on Apollorise Earth

The Cold War was the pinnacle of national rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union in which the space race was a major battleground. This current time period of space exploration and advancements could grow into a similar situation like the Cold War space race. The Soviet Union and United States sought to be the first to achieve landing men on the moon and returning them safely through massive government induced research. The technological advancements during that period of time were revolutionary and some could argue that even though the planet was almost annihilated the cold war had positive impacts. Today with many nations beginning to put crafts into space some believe we may be entering a new space race. Friedman Louis says “There are now many space races. One is taking place between China and India, dramatized by India's launch of a Mars orbiter last month and China's launch this month of a lunar lander and rover. “ With nations like China, India, The United States, Japan, Russia and most of Europe along with a couple of private sector companies all successfully completing missions into space and to other planets it is impossible to not have competition. Competition is human nature, the question is just how far will these competitions progress and to what extent are the nations willing to win. Friedman Louis is in favor of space races of all kinds, even in nations that struggle to feed their populations. He reminds his readers that money spent on space programs is spent here on earth and is injected into multiple fields of the economy. He contributes space races to a better future by the engagement of the youth and the national pride it brings to a nation. He quotes an Indian engineer who said “The Indian space program is resolute as always in its purpose to contribute both toward economical and social development of its people.”.

Like in the Cold War era, all nations want to be recognized on a global scale and the moon is a perfect proving ground for gaining respect. The moons also provides the incredibly motivating incentive of endless wealth and energy in the form He-3 and rare earth metals. The He-3 on the moon has unbelievable potential to fix the growing energy crisis of the world. Nations like China with a huge, growing populations all while being the largest importer of oil in the world are first on the list in looking for the next source of major energy. “By mining He-3 from the moon and using it to create electricity Beijing would not only solve its own looming energy crisis but would also attain the sort of status worldwide Russia's domination of gas supply gives it in Europe today.”(The new space race between China and the West:Mining the Moon). It is possible that the first country to reach the moon may try to monopolize its resources. History shows that wars will be fought over energy and resources especially if they are dominated by one country. Underlying hostility and resentment between rival nations could evolve in the race to the moon. We should hope new space race will never be hostile, with the rewards being the technological advancements, peaceful cooperation of nations, and the improved quality of life for all. Being the dominant space power in the world is not as important as it is to cooperate and have joint programs to improve the future of mankind(Op-Ed: The new space race: It's not just the U.S. and Russia anymore).

The moon is posing a large challenge for mankind yet we are in a position to make of this challenge what we want. We are given the potential to make huge advancements in overall quality of life as well as the temptation to make the same mistakes on the moon as we have on earth. We as a human race must take the gift of the moon and use it as incentive to challenge ourselves, instead of falling victim to greed. A cooperative force of nations who share the same values of upholding environment of the moon as well as seizing its resources is the only way to advance on such a complicated opportunity.

Sources-
"Mining Rare Mineral From The Moon." Popular Mechanics. 6 Dec. 2004. Web. 6 Feb. 2015. <http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/moon-mars/a235/1283056/>.

Fernholz, Tim. "SpaceX Just Made Rocket Launches Affordable. Here’s How It Could Make Them Downright Cheap." Quartz. 4 Dec. 2013. Web. 5 Feb. 2015. <http://qz.com/153969/spacex-just-made-rocket-launches-affordable-heres-how-it-could-make-them-downright-cheap/>

"Plans to Mine the Moon Pose Legal Questions: Letters to the Editor." ProQuest. The Times[London(UK)], 8 Aug. 2014. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/1551813202?pq-origsite=summon>. (This article must be accessed through the ncsu library website by searching the title, logging in, then narrowing the search to newspaper articles.)

Crawford, Ian. "Why We Should Mine the Moon - The Epoch Times." The Epoch Times Why We Should Mine the Moon Comments. 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2015. <http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1111909-why-we-should-mine-the-moon/>.

Friedman, Louis. "Op-Ed: The New Space Race: It's Not Just the U.S. and Russia Anymore."The Planetary Society Blog. 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <http://www.planetary.org/blogs/guest-blogs/lou-friedman/20131213-op-ed-space-race.html>.

"The End Of Fossil Fuels." - Our Green Energy. Web. 30 Jan. 2015. <https://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/energy-independence/the-end-of-fossil-fuels>.

Midgley, Dominic. "The New Space Race between China and the West: Mining the Moon."Express. 6 Aug. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/496078/Space-Race-Mining-Moon-Base-NASA-HE-3>.

Hewitt, John. "China Is Going to Mine the Moon for Helium-3 Fusion Fuel | ExtremeTech."ExtremeTech. 26 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/197784-china-is-going-to-mine-the-moon-for-helium-3-fusion-fuel>.