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

Not everyone is in agreement that Helium 3 will produce a safe fusion solution. In an article entitled "Fears over Factoids" in 2007, the theoretical physicist Frank Close famously described the concept as "moonshine".
LOL

Because helium-3 is such a minor constituent of the regolith, mining it produces valuable by-products in abundance, particularly solar-wind hydrogen, which could be used to fuel an Earth-Moon transportation infrastructure and to support human life at the lunar outpost.

Looks like science fiction, right?

Or technology transfer? 🤔

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS RULE THE WORLD

MARK MY WORDS
WHEN THE VEIL IS LIFTED
ROLLS ROYCE WILL COMPETE WITH LOCKHEED MARTIN / BOEING / RAYTHEON / GENERAL DYNAMICS / NORTHROP GRUMMAN / BAE SYSTEMS
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/02/22/rolls-royce-shares-jump-8percent-after-2023-profits-more-than-double.html

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFERS RULE THE WORLD