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Russia to Mine Moon for Energy

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Russian space officials announced plans last week to build a permanent base on the moon to mine isotope helium-3, a promising fuel for nuclear energy.

With the move, Russia joined the United States in pushing for a permanent presence on the moon and in encouraging speculation on helium-3’s feasibility for energy production on earth.

"We are planning to build a permanent base on the moon by 2015,” said Nikolai Sevastyanov, head of the Energia space corporation, at an academic conference as reported by the ITAR-TASS news agency.

"By 2020,” he continued, "we can begin the industrial-scale delivery of the rare isotope helium-3.”

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  President Bush called for the creation of a permanent U.S. base on the moon in early 2004. Bush’s announcement also generated speculation about U.S. interest in helium-3.

Some scientists believe the isotope could be the next great source of energy for the world.

Gerald Kulcinski, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in January 2004 that helium-3 could transform energy production without causing harm to the environment.

"If we could land a space shuttle on the moon, fill the cargo with canisters of helium-3 mined from the surface and bring the shuttle back to Earth,” Kulcinski promised, "that cargo would supply the entire electrical power needs of the United States for an entire year.”

And, he continued, helium-3 "doesn’t produce greenhouse emissions. It’s safe for the environment.”

Another scientist, John Santarius of the University of Wisconsin’s Fusion Technology Institute, told the Journal-Sentinel that helium-3 provides one million times more energy per pound than a ton of coal.

Though rare on earth, the isotope is abundant on the moon. Kulcinski’s research team has estimated that more than 1 million metric tons is trapped in the upper layers of lunar rock.

If their calculations are correct, the moon would contain enough helium-3 to power 1,000 years of electricity in the United States.

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