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New material discovered on the moon prompted China to announce plans to launch three unmanned missions over the next 10 years in an effort to rival the US presence on Earth. moon.
This new found material is very valuable, because it has the potential to become a future source of energy thanks to the helium-3 content it contains.
Quoted by IFL science, this material can be used as a fuel for nuclear fusion, a renewable resource technology often called the artificial sun. Samples from the Chinese Chang’e-5 mission show that this material is abundant enough to be extracted from the lunar soil.
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The three new orbiter missions were announced from China the day after the discovery of a new mineral in samples taken from the 2020 Change’e-5 mission. The mineral, called Changesite- (Y), is the first lunar sample taken since 1976.
The material itself is a transparent columnar mineral that forms crystals with a radius of only 10 microns. What makes Changesite- (Y) so special is the helium-3 it contains, an important isotope very useful in nuclear reactions.
Current fusion reactions generally use tritium and deuterium. But these materials create multiple products that are difficult to accommodate, and the energy losses associated with large reactions often outweigh the energy that can be extracted.
One solution to this problem is to use helium-3, an isotope which is the only stable element that has more protons than neutrons.
When helium-3 and deuterium are mixed together, the reaction creates helium and a proton, which is much easier to manage than the alternative.
Unfortunately, helium-3 is extremely rare on Earth. If nuclear fusion becomes a viable source of energy, humans will need large amounts of helium-3. Therefore, moon be an attractive target for helium-3 extraction in the preparation of future energy sources.
According to Bloomberg, China has now received approval for three new rides that will land moonwith the ultimate goal of creating a permanent human presence on the Moon.
In addition to China, the United States, through NASA and SpaceX, is also trying to launch Artemis-I to the moon. This mission will send several CubeSat satellites and the Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit. Unfortunately, engine problems and leaks meant that this mission was postponed to late September or early October 2022.
Watch videos”NASA delays the launch of the moon, discusses the continuation of Artemis I“
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