China's Chang'e 5 mission has brought to light a new mineral on the lunar surface. Scientists call it “Changesite-(Y)”, and it is a sort of colorless crystal with an important characteristic: it contains Helium-3. This is the isotope that could become the fuel for future nuclear fusion reactors, and more.
The crystalline mineral obtained, to be honest, is really tiny. It is about a tenth the size of a human hair. Yet, that very small sample (the collection capabilities of current rovers being what they are) is of immense interest to lunar geologists. Helium-3 truly has the potential to change the world.
Changesite, Helium-3 and future developments
We've known for a while that our Moon hosts Helium-3 deposits: since the Apollo program. And since then, scientists have been working hard to understand how to bring it to earth, because it would present enormous advantages in terms of energy.
Which? First of all, fusion with Helium-3 compared to that which would use deuterium and tritium, isotopes of hydrogen, would not produce radioactive neutrons. The “con” to face: greater difficulty in obtaining controlled reactions, but we have time to solve this problem.
According to NASA, China is preparing for the next phase of its lunar exploration program. A phase that will lead to the construction of a "research base" at the south pole of the moon. The roadmap of missions planned in the near future is:
- Chang'e 6, which, like Chang'e 5, will be a sample collection mission. This time it will attempt to bring ice located in permanently shadowed craters at the south pole back to Earth.
- Chang'e 7, which will be a combination orbiter, lander and rover designed to search for water at the lunar south pole. Despite the number, this mission could follow, but also precede Chang'e 6.
- Chang'e 8, which will test technologies for the possible construction of a lunar base.
To these missions are added those with crew that China, in collaboration with Russia, plan over the next decade.
The western side
Meanwhile, as you know, the mission Artemis 1 NASA, twice delayed, has a new launch date. Hopefully, the mighty Space Launch System rocket it will take off on September 27th. To be on the safe side, there is also a “backup” launch date: it will be October 2nd.
Two robotic space missions, one of Intuitive Machines ,other of Astrobotic , should be launched late 2022 or early 2023. If successful, they will bring “public-private” probes to the lunar surface, as part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Systems (CLPS) program.
It is expected in 2024 Artemis 2, with a crew of four astronauts that will orbit the Moon. The following year (or maybe the one after that), Artemis 3 will bring humans to the Moon more than 50 years after the last time (the Apollo 17 mission in 1972).
Why do we go back there?
There are many reasons to return to the Moon: above all, scientific research and soft power (in the last century the symbol of the US flag determined the absolute primacy of Western science in the collective imagination).
The entry of Helium-3 into this chessboard, however, brings us a suggestive and strange image: the Moon could become the Persian Gulf of this century. It is impossible to evaluate today the impact that clean and abundant fusion energy would have on the world.
The obstacles to building a functioning reactor could be removed by the middle of this century, and this renewed space race could further advance the times.
Everything is linked to our ability to bring back to Earth samples much larger than the "hair" collected by the Chinese. A "hair", however, of fundamental importance: it scores a point in China's favor in a crucial match.
The country that will control the energy source that makes technological civilization work will control the Earth.
