But how could we mine it on the Moon?

How is natural gas mined?

Once the gas deposit has been reached, the temperature is dropped inside the deposit low enough to turn the natural gas into its liquid state. This is done with liquid nitrogen. The natural gas liquid is then transported to the surface by pumps where it can either be stored in large tanks or transported to wherever it is needed.



https://www.sciencing.com/how-natural-gas-mined-4884857/

They will need to update their website soon :) 🌑 ⬆️

The Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) was formed in 1987, as one of NASA’s Centers for the Commercial Development of Space, to study how 3He could be mined from the Moon.

Researchers at WCSAR produced several mining concepts including mobile miners that excavate and process lunar regolith and in-situ volatile release and capture approaches.

The most recent design iteration, the M-3, was completed in 2006.

The M-3 was designed to collect 33 kg of 3He per year.
The miner would excavate down to a 3 m depth over a 1 km2 area each year with a 4 m diameter bucket wheel excavator.
This would be enough 3He to fuel one ~400 MW fusion power plant per year.
The 33 kg/yr collection rate assumes a 10 ppb 3He concentration and that the miner only operates during 90% of the lunar daytime (3942 hours/year).
The M-3 is designed to excavate 1258 tonnes/hr, heat 556 tonnes/hr, move at 23 m/hr and consume about 350 kW of electrical power.
If the 3He concentration in the undisturbed maria regolith is 20 ppb, the
collected 3He would be closer to 66 kg/yr.

Other solar wind volatiles (H2, 4He, CO2, CH4, N2, H2O), which also diffuse out of the regolith with heating, are collected in the M-3 design.

Lunar Helium-3: Mining Concepts,
Extraction Research, and Potential

ISRU Synergies
Aaron D.S. Olson
NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL, 32899, U.S.A


This paper describes various methods and designs specifically proposed for mining helium
3, and summarizes the methods, results and potential implications of recent research on
helium extraction from lunar regolith simulant.
This paper also touches on the potential
synergy of lunar propellant production with helium-3 mining and some of the recent
advancements in fusion technology related to future helium-3 fueled fusion reactors.

US Nuclear Corp. and Solar System Resources Corp. in Poland have signed a historic transatlantic agreement for the supply of the rare helium-3 isotope from deposits located on the Moon.

Solar System Resources has agreed to provide 500 kilograms of helium-3 to U.S. Nuclear Corp. in the 2028-2032 timeframe.


https://me.smenet.org/webContent.cfm?webarticleid=3450

Mining helium-3 on the Moon has been talked about forever—now a company will try


https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/mining-helium-3-on-the-moon-has-been-talked-about-forever-now-a-company-will-try/

Interestingly, the Artemis paper suggests approx 1 million tonnes of lunar rock needs to be processed to produce 70 tonnes of He-3 - so you would need to process about 13 million tonnes of lunar soil. Might sound like a lot, but the US alone produces approx 700 million tonnes of coal annualy.

The Helium-3 Shortage: Supply, Demand, and
Options for Congress
Dec, 22nd, 2010.

Except for space exploration and expansion, bubble worlder's benefits from helium 3 mining include medical use, clean energy solutions for power supply all around the world...

While it can be made artificially, it’s an incredibly rare substance on Earth: a report from 2011 showed that, in total, .01 metric tons of helium 3 exist on Earth, and it only comprises .0001 percent of the American government’s helium reserve.


https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/helium-3-shortage-reaches-across-sectors

The idea of harvesting a clean and efficient form of energy from the Moon has stimulated science fiction and fact in recent decades.

The Apollo programme's own geologist, Harrison Schmidt, has repeatedly made the argument for Helium-3 mining, whilst Gerald Kulcinski at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is another leading proponent. He has created a small reactor at the Fusion Technology Institute, but so far it has not been possible to create the helium fusion reaction with a net power output.

The Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror Project (WHAM) experiment being conducted at the Wisconsin Plasma Physics Laboratory in Stoughton, Wisconsin is pictured on July 16, 2024. Part of a public-private partnership between UW–Madison and Realta Fusion Inc, the WHAM achieved the milestone of creating plasma as part of fusion energy research

Apart from the traditional space-faring nations, the India has previously indicated its interest in mining the lunar surface.
The use of Moon resources was also part of Newt Gingrich's unsuccessful candidacy for the Republican party’s nomination for the US presidency in 2012.

Private enterprise is also interested in using fuel from the Moon – although possibly by extracting water rather than Helium-3. The Shackleton Energy company envisages providing propellant for missions throughout the Solar System using lunar water.

Some teams vying for the Google Lunar X-Prize also see mining as an ultimate goal of their landers. ESA has also considered using the Moon to help missions farther into the Solar System.


https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Future/Space_for_Earth/Energy/Helium-3_mining_on_the_lunar_surface