Lunarpedia - Existing Commercial Potential for Helium-3 from the Moon -
[Return To The Moon] Digest Number 290

Here in Tracy, California and it is December 31, 2006.

As I turn 69 years young, I wonder what will be in store for us in 2007.

An e-mail from the "return_to_the_moon" yahoo group shows one effort, the
new Wiki - lunarpedia.

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http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/return_to_the_moon/
Description

Discussions regarding America's new projects to return to the moon.
Returning to the moon, and eventual settlement driven by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration's new mandate.

Reminder: New members are initially moderated.

Part of the InsideKSC.com yahoo discussion groups:

Inside KSC: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/inside_ksc

Project Constellation: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Project_Constellation

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 828  Existing Commercial Potential for Helium-3 from the Moon
I posted some ideas on lunarpedia about Existing Commercial Potential for
Helium-3 from Luna. The Moon is an abundant source of He3. He3 has a market
value,...

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Take a look at what has been started.
- LRK -

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http://www.lunarpedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

Main Page
>From Lunarpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Welcome to Lunarpedia!

Groundbreaking began on the evening of 12 September 2006 and things are
still in an early stage of development. The goal is to cover everything we
will need to know how to do on Luna to set up colonies, as well as related
efforts, designs, and business models that may eventually lead there.

You can help! Click here to create your account -- or donate your content
anonymously (at least for the time being).


Lunarpedia:Outline draft -- Peter Kokh presented us with this and we think
it's a good start on a framework for Lunarpedia. Please take a look through
it and add anything we may have left out. Keep in mind that some subjects
will have considerable overlaps with others. If you can think of a way of
charting those overlaps we'd love to hear from you.

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- LRK -

Thanks for looking up with me.

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsletter: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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[Return To The Moon] Digest Number 290 - LRK -
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1a. Existing Commercial Potential for Helium-3 from the Moon
Posted by: "Charles F. Radley"
Sat Dec 30, 2006 10:27 am (PST)

I posted some ideas on lunarpedia about Existing Commercial Potential
for Helium-3 from Luna.

The Moon is an abundant source of He3. He3 has a market value, even
though He3 fusion is not yet demonstrated. It might be worth collecting
He3 from the Moon today simply to sell into the existing terrestrial
market.

Current market price for He3 is about $46,500 per troy ounce
($1500/gram, $1.5M/kg), more than 120 times the value of gold and over
eight times the value of Rhodium.

Question: can we reduce the cost of recovering He3 from the lunar
surface to that level, e.g. $1500 per gram? What would be the capital
cost of setting up a small He3 production facility on Luna?

See this web link for more detailed discussion.

http://www.lunarpedia.org/index.php?title=Helium3

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The NSS web site is also being updated. - LRK -
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http://www.nss.org/settlement/moon/index.html

Excerpt from speech of John Marburger
Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy
Executive Office of the President
March 15, 2006

The Moon has unique significance for all space applications for a reason
that to my amazement is hardly ever discussed in popular accounts of space
policy. The Moon is the closest source of material that lies far up Earth's
gravity well. Anything that can be made from Lunar material at costs
comparable to Earth manufacture has an enormous overall cost advantage
compared with objects lifted from Earth's surface. The greatest value of the
Moon lies neither in science nor in exploration, but in its material. I am
talking about the possibility of extracting elements and minerals that can
be processed into fuel or massive components of space apparatus. The
production of oxygen in particular, the major component (by mass) of
chemical rocket fuel, is potentially an important Lunar industry.

What are the preconditions for such an industry? That, it seems to me, must
be a primary consideration of the long range planning for the Lunar agenda.
Science studies provide the foundation for a materials production roadmap.
Clever ideas have been advanced for the phased construction of electrical
power sources - perhaps using solar cells manufactured in situ from Lunar
soil. A not unreasonable scenario is a phase of highly subsidized capital
construction followed by market-driven industrial activity to provide Lunar
products such as oxygen refueling services for commercially valuable
Earth-orbiting apparatus.

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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