The crystal is transparent and roughly the width of a single human hair. It formed in a region of the moon that was volcanically active around 1.2 billion years ago. One of the primary ingredients found in this crystal is helium-3, which scientists believe may provide a stable fuel source for nuclear fusion reactors.
According to Chinese state media, the Chinese Atomic Energy Authority has confirmed the presence of helium-3 inside the crystal. This isotope of helium is rare on Earth, but scientists (and science-fiction authors) have long speculated it could be present in significant amounts on the moon.
Unlike Earth, which is protected by its magnetic field, the Moon has been bombarded with large quantities of Helium-3 by the solar wind. It is thought that this isotope could provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor, since it is not radioactive and would not produce dangerous waste products.
The find makes China the third country to discover a new mineral on the Moon, and the country says it's analyzed the soil for rare helium-3. ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs.
Scientists found a single crystal of a new phosphate mineral while analyzing lunar basalt particles, which were collected from the moon two years ago by the Chang'e-5 mission.
At $1400 per gram, one hundred kilograms (220 pounds) of helium-3 would be worth about $140 million. One hundred kilograms constitutes more than enough fuel to potentially power a 1000 megawatt electric plant for a year when fused with deuterium, the terrestrially abundant heavy isotope of hydrogen.
The first rover to visit the far side of the moon, China's Yutu-2, has found stark differences between there and the near side. These include stickier, more supportive soil on the far side and a greater abundance of small rocks and impact craters.
There simply is not enough Helium-3 here on earth to be used in a nuclear power plant. Second, scientists estimate one million tons of moon soil would be needed to produce seventy tons of Helium-3.
Major obstacles. The problem is that helium-3 is extremely scarce on Earth. This isotope comes mostly from the solar wind, but the Earth is protected under the shield of its atmosphere and its magnetic field.
One ton of helium-3 has the potential to produce 1.5 times more destructive power than the Tsar Bomba. In other words, the potential to make a nuclear weapon with a 75 megaton yield.
Virtually all helium-3 used in industry today is produced from the radioactive decay of tritium, given its very low natural abundance and its very high cost.
Helium-3, an isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron, could be fused with deuterium in a reactor. The resulting energy release could expel propellant out the back of the spacecraft. Helium-3 is proposed as a power source for spacecraft mainly because of its lunar abundance.
A Chinese probe has recently discovered a hidden water source on the moon which has been found locked in glass beads. About 1731 g of regolith samples were brought back by China's Chang'e-5 lunar lander back in 2020.
Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples from a Chinese mission. Water was embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur. These shiny, multicoloured glass beads were in samples returned from the moon by China in 2020.
It was found in lunar basalt particles being examined in laboratories in China. The discovery was made by researchers at the Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology who found a single crystal of Changesite–(Y) using X-ray diffraction while studying particles collected on the moon.
Helium-3 (3He), an isotope of helium with one neutron and two protons, has the potential to solve the twin problems of planet earth: climate crisis and ever rising energy demand. Discovered in 1939, Helium-3 occurs as a primordial nuclide which is getting off from earth's crust into outer space over millions of years.
Acute Toxicity
Inhalation Simple asphyxiant. May cause suffocation by displacing the oxygen in the air. Exposure to oxygen-deficient atmosphere (<19.5%) may cause dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, excess salivation, diminished mental alertness, loss of consciousness and death.
Roughly 1.1 million metric tons of the isotope exists on the Moon down to a depth of several meters. Twenty-five metric tons of helium-3, about a quarter of the cargo capacity of a SpaceX Starship, would suffice to fuel all the power needs of the United States for a year.
At an estimated value of $3 billion per ton, this Helium isotope can drive a fusion-powered nuclear reactor. Helium-3 is cast off into the solar system by the Sun, but rarely makes it to Earth due to our protective magnetic field.
The current US price for 3He is set at $600 per liter for government use and in federally sponsored research and at $1000 per liter for commercial use.
Helium-3 is primordial, dating back to a planetary body's earliest days. On Earth, it formed in the mantle of the planet, above the core and below the crust. While it can be made artificially, it's an incredibly rare substance on Earth: a report from 2011 showed that, in total, .
It hopes to build the first brick on the moon in 2028. China has an ambitious plan to build moon bases using bricks made from lunar regolith — and the project could start as soon as 2028.
The Chinese spacecraft is the first to ever land on this unexplored area of the moon.
A recent discovery has rekindled interest in our nearest neighbor in space. The moon, it turns out, has more water in its soil than previously believed. Two studies, one from China and one from the United States, have found evidence of water molecules and hydroxyls in lunar soil samples and shadows.