Scientists are planning to bring helium-3, an alternative fuel to fossil fuels, from the moon. Is it possible or impossible?

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Scientists are planning to bring helium-3, an alternative fuel to fossil fuels, from the moon. Is it possible or impossible?
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/snbrHBRigvvzjxNGuUtcck-970-80.jpg.webp

[source](https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/moon)

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Scientists are planning to bring fuel from the moon. The moon contains [helium-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3) which can be used as fuel through nuclear fusion. Scientists are doing a lot of research on this matter. Chinese scientists are at the forefront of this research. The world's[ fossil fuels](https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/fossil-fuels/) are gradually running out. Therefore, there will be a lack of energy in the world, to meet it, it will be necessary to bring energy from outside the world and use it in the future. So scientists are considering the moon as a new source of energy.

At the rate we are using the world's energy, [we will run out of fossil fuels by 2060. ](https://octopus.energy/blog/when-will-fossil-fuels-run-out/)We are using gas coal and oil as fuel. All these energy consumption levels are increasing day by day. The world's population is increasing, which means that we need more and more energy. A study revealed that

 > [Oil will end by 2052 – 30 years time](https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/fossil-fuels-run/)

 > [Gas will end by 2060 – 40 years time](https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/fossil-fuels-run/)

 > [Coal will last till 2090 – 70 years time](https://mahb.stanford.edu/library-item/fossil-fuels-run/)

Now you naturally understand that we need to find alternatives to fossil fuels. Scientists have done well by deciding to supply fuel from the moon.

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# Now the issue is whether there is technology to bring fuel from the moon?

Man walked on the moon long ago. [On 20 July 1969](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_landing) America made the first mission to the moon. Since then many missions have been completed to the moon. You can see a big list of all missions to the moon at [this link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_the_Moon). It has been possible to send humans to the moon and to bring moon soil to earth but in very small quantities. It has not yet been possible to bring any heavy objects from the moon. However, scientists are researching in this regard.

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kQDWZxLYMLS28WMBzChqq9-970-80.jpg.webp

[source](https://www.space.com/apollo-11-moon-landing-hoax-believers.html)

Now we discuss the cost of a moon mission. We all know roughly that the cost of mission to the moon is very high. The last mission was completed on the moon. [Apollo 17 (December 7–19, 1972) was the final mission of NASA's Apollo program ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17). As I said earlier, missions to the moon are very expensive. [Apollo 17, cost approximately **450 million dollars**.](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1028322/total-cost-apollo-missions/)

​Now we calculate America's fuel consumption. If we know the cost of American fuel and the cost of the mission to the moon, we can understand whether it will be possible to bring fuel from the moon. I am calculating US fuel consumption because it is said that 25 tons of helium 3 can meet US fuel needs for one year.

 > In 2021, about **134.83 billion gallons** (or about 3.21 billion barrels)1 of finished motor gasoline were consumed in the United States [source](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=23&t=10)

 > The United States consumes **731,071,000 Tons** (short tons, "st") of Coal per year as of the year 2016. [source](https://www.worldometers.info/coal/us-coal/)

 > In 2021, the United States consumed an average of about 19.78 million barrels of petroleum per day, or a total of about **7.22 billion barrels** of petroleum.[ source](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=33&t=6)

 > In 2019, U.S. total primary energy consumption was about **100 quadrillion** British thermal units (Btu). U.S [source](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=87&t=1)

I calculated that fossil fuel consumption in America costs $220,000,000,000 per year.

Let's see how the moon's fuel will cost. However, this calculation is not correct. But we can get a general idea. On a news channel, I saw a year's fuel consumption of America with 25 tons of helium. For the sake of calculation, let's assume that 25 tons of helium can be brought to Earth in one mission according to the capacity of Space Shuttle. However, scientists will use other [technologies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology) to transport energy.

NASA has planned a new mission to the moon. The cost of this mission has been estimated $93-billion. However, this mission is not for transporting fuel

= America spent on fuel every year - the cost of the planed mission to the moon

= $220,000,000,000 - $93 000,000,000

=$ 127000000000

This calculation shows that imported fuel from the moon will be cheaper than fuel from Earth.

These calculations are purely speculative but it is understood that getting fuel from the moon would not be too expensive. Missions for research on the moon and missions for cargo transport are completely different and the cost will also be different.

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Now the biggest issue is that the[ space shuttle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_program) probably won't be able to bring 25 tons of helium 3 fuel. Scientists have to think of a new [spacecraft](https://www.britannica.com/technology/spacecraft) to transport cargo. Earth does not yet have the technology to bring fuel from the moon. But I have calculated the cost of Technology here to get a general idea. As such it is by no means efficient but it means that it will cost the same or slightly more money that we are spending on fuel. Scientists are researching this. If they discover the right [technology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technology), we may be able to avoid future energy shortages. At the same time, scientists should think about whether bringing fuel from the moon will have any adverse effects on the moon and the earth.

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# Thanks for reading

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