Photo credit : European Space Agency
OPERATIONS
Mining helium-3 could be a practical energy source for the next 10,000 yrs
contained using electromagnetic fields . These isotopes could provide a safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor , since it is not radioactive and would not produce dangerous waste products . However , like fossil fuels , the substance is a limited resource .
“ It ’ s a fossil fuel reserve . Like mining all the coal or mining all the oil , once you ’ ve mined it … it ’ s gone ,” Crawford said .
“ It ’ s possible that helium-3 and other solar-wind – implanted ions , like hydrogen , may be in a higher abundance in the cold regolith near the lunar poles . That would be an important measurement to make and would require a polar lander ,” Crawford said .
Aside from helium-3 , the prospect for other minerals is another possibility .
In 2008 , NASA ’ s Moon Mineralogy Mapper , known as M2 , was carried on India ’ s Chandrayaan-1 lunarorbiting spacecraft , which operated around the Moon until August 2009 .
According to NASA , during the excursion , the M3 found a whole new range of processes for mineral concentrations on
10 March 2015