Mining Helium-3 On the Moon

[@TzMKnight]

Boy was ahead of his time with this editing from 12 years ago

[@Energine1]

Hats off you nailed it

[@MrJizzmonkeys]

damn its 2056 and we still ain't back to the moon.

[@catscats50]

What chance have we got when Boffins can't even pronounce the word Nuclear. This guy is saying Nuculler most people mispronounce it Nukiller so at least he's original.

[@itstriplem2069]

lol, we would have blown each other up, but can do it if we UNITE AS ONE RACE, ONE GOVERNMENT, ONE UNION

[@madsambjrner3985]

NASA is going to the moon in 2024😂😉

[@lifethrownoutofthewindow]

hold my elon.

[@xenobell2475]

:)

[@rkflorida4355]

Chris, I'm glad I finally got to watching your series on Ex. the Future. This wonderful little video is brilliant. It explains this issue clearly to me a technical person and it was perfectly understandable to my wife who is not technical at all. I'm now setting out to go through your videos on Explaining the Future. It is a perfect adjunct to Explaining Computers. Thanks so much for your efforts, they are not wasted and have great value.

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Many thanks. :)

[@cynthcorcor126]

This makes no Sense supreme court justice Clarence Thomas.

[@Thisisaweirdthing2makeusdo]

Amazing when you get the exact video you searched for. Great stuff sir. Subbed and liked.

[@arachnid83]

Hope Artemis goes through as planned. Helium 3 and a working fusion reactor would throw the prospects of humanity wide open.

[@TheRainbowKiss]

And in turn would open the rest of the solar system

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Most of my sound effects I have recorded/produced myself over many years. Others come from sound-effects-library [dot] com (KZbin will not allow me to include a link here).

[@tylerrbh9769]

You still alive?

[@justinholman1609]

This and other youtube videos like it should have a lot more views

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Its a good idea -- I think we will use the Moon for many things -- though we'd need a way of getting energy from the solar panels back to the earth . . .

[@ExplainingComputers]

Technically a space shuttle could indeed have gone to the moon carrying some kind of lunar lander in its cargo bay. Pity is they never did, and now won't as they are to be retired in 2010. Why this is (and why NASA are returning to Apollo-esk technology for their 2020 moonlandings) is not entirely clear . . .

[@MikeTrieu]

"Apollo-esque". /r/BoneAppleTea

[@DrShaym]

He pronounces nuclear like "nuke-yoo-lur", like George Bush.

[@deathlydashi]

Dr shaym!!!

[@typicalgamer9993]

DUDE No

[@christopheradora170]

jt

[@ClamperDrew]

I believe somebody who has worked in a nuclear power plant for over 20 years, one Homer Simpson, would agree, its pronounced "nuke-yoo-lur...nuke-yoo-lur".

[@dr.froghopper6711]

@@ClamperDrew yukyukyuk! Good comment!

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

As I say in the video, I find it amazing how little potential aneutronic fission is reported given that Russia, China and the US/NASA all have specific projects to go/return to the Moon at least in part to get hold of helium-3 for fission power.

[@trevorwilliams1976]

Ever hear about these project being enacted upon? I've seen this channel called Bruce Sees ALL who has caught objects moving on the moon stirring up "dust clouds" Trying to connect the dots... Just curious your thoughts. Cheers.

[@RamezandWalaa]

Dude your way ahead of time lol!

[@ProperLogicalDebate]

Such a shipment back to Earth would be of such great value that one shipment would rival many spanish treasure ships on the way to Spain. A very tempting target indeed.

[@AugustTheStag]

Omg. Space pirates! Ooooh im gonna go rewatch firefly

[@WellWisdom.]

Great video.

[@TheHoth1]

Never mind the hater. Great effort and it was delivered clearly and to the point. I have learned a lot about Helium 3. Thanks!

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

The problem is the small quantity emitted as you say. We would need massive collectors to gather helium-3 in real time. Whereas gathering it from the Moon allows access to billions of years of collected emissions.

[@Jr_Scientist]

The crystal contains mostly helium-3

[@shashwatdwivedi8184]

I have came from future to tell that Helium 3 is not yet extracted

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

I'm talking in my normal voice and as I've been lecturing for nearly 20 years. As for the body language, yes, I need to move my arms around less in these videos! :-)

[@rbnhd1976]

Chris, you're still doing a magnificent job! Don't let trolls bother you for one second. I can't get enough of sbc android stuff on explaining computers. If you listen to these guys, the earth is flat and "da jooos" control everything. Window lickers and imbeciles abound! Peace and love from southeast US!

[@rbnhd1976]

Also, you were way ahead of the curve here!

[@Robbie_Rocket]

You did great. I wouldn’t worry about it.

[@aaronmayhew2.0]

People that pass judgement are insecure. Plain and simple

[@robotnik987]

I'm curious, since Helium-3 is constantly given off by the sun, would collecting it directly from space be a possibility worth working into? Or are the amounts available at any given time in space too small?

[@ruiker2]

All kind of plans are anounced by countries and corporations in this vid. It clearly shows how difficult it is to predict the future. Plans do not always come true. Good explanation of the matter however. It now caught my attention to Helium 3. See the movie "Moon" on this subject also.

[@harryzarry13]

Thank you!

[@computerhandyman]

Wow love this stuff. It does sound exciting. Thanks

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

@SincerlyMexx Helium-3 is a gas, hence would be stored in pressurized tanks as you note. After heating up the Moon rock a lot of filtering would need to take place to separate the helium-3 from everything else (ie it is not as simple as just heating up the rock and bottling the gas). It would be a serious industrial process to set up and operate -- if one with potentially very significant results.

[@jericobiermann1504]

The real question is, will this help me improve the fuel consumption on my 17 ft long 1974 Lincoln Continental?

[@paulaxton72]

Jerico Biermann no but a hydrogen conversion kit will.

[@proudtobewhiteprivileged9530]

the old land barge

[@prince-solomon]

Yepp, those moon bases worked out like a charm... When did some scientists get as ridiculously optimistic as most science-fiction authors about how early a certain technology/milestone will be developed/achieved?

[@tainicon4639]

I clicked on this link not expecting to find you narrating this haha

[@rfry]

cool vid, can you site your sources, where do u come up with these numbers? can you site sources supporting your numbers

[@Zapheteroped]

I see two possibilities - space pirates and space wars or world peace and progress. It's up to us.

[@XYZB0RG]

I don't think it was ever up to us

[@Holycrudaflyingcow12]

That is why we use plenty of energy sources instead of one. You have to remember that this isn't a race to see which energy source is better, it's a race to see how many energy sources we can use at once and get minimum negative effects.

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

These are good questions! :-) Planting a flag on the Earth has never implied ownership of the whole planet -- hence how much of the Moon does planting a flag get?! The human race has also always fought over valuable resources -- and the Moon may well therefore become a source of future conflict.

[@crazycoolben13]

since the gas giants have been collecting as-well it would be possible to set-up gas extraction plants that float in the right layer of its atmosphere where helium-3 would most plentiful, then when a shuttle comes to collect the helium-3 it take some of it as fuel for its self

[@shivangvashisht]

India at present is planning to mine Helium-3 but the recent setback of Chandrayan-2 mission might derail the plan and postpone it for some more years.

[@krishna-iq6fr]

Well Chandrayaan 3 is a success now. So india is in right path now.

[@jocksam6634]

Helium 3 is a great controllable nuclear fuel source for space ships. They don’t need massive amounts of energy as they want you to believe.

[@fehquig]

Very interesting...

[@markp4608]

One of the most fascinating Experiences I have had was Visiting a meteor crater, It was then I looked down, I saw a Tribe! All around their castle hole, They glinted! Tiny little grains worth far more Than any hay-penny helium3! Got it? he!he!

[@chadcaponetti5865]

Dude I’m pretty sure you gave me a Hand Job in the bathroom of a K Mart at a Strip Mall before, no joke

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

I think the answer is "yes", though the Moon is closer and more hospitable! :)

[@lazybeiber]

hey guys, does anybody know of a film from the late 50's or early 60's where they use helium-3. the helium-3 is able to climb a ladder when a light is turned on. It is also able to slide up the walls of a room and slide towards the light due to its superfluidity.

[@ryanlak1234]

@ExplainingTheFuture aren't protons damaging to the containment of the fusion reactor?

[@lancemoon4047]

Didnt you EVER see Ghostbusters - cmon.. Everyone knows how to safely store stuff :-)

[@sonny9493]

Would it be possible to place some things in our orbit that could absorb the helium 3 from the sun in large enough quantities? Cool video BTW. Very interesting

[@ELPRES1DENTE45]

We could try a large spherical rock formation in a moon-shaped configuration.

[@gjw000]

2018 and still not happened. Slight issue of not being able to master nuclear fusion may be the issue

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

I'm not aware there is significant work on aneutronic fusion, given the shortage of the fuel! :) The big unknown at the time this video was made was the impact of the 2007/08 financial crisis, and the slashing of space budgets around the world that resulted from it.

[@gjw000]

ExplainingTheFuture still v interesting. I read also that there is (hypothesised) a vast amount of helium3 in the gas giants also.

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Yes, indeed. There are lots of places we may potentially go in the Solar System to get future fuel! :)

[@westonpotter1838]

gjw000 2020, no nuclear fusion

[@MikeTrieu]

@@westonpotter1838 But 2020 is also when China's Chang'e 5 mission will turn with a sample of lunar regolith. Perhaps they will be the first nation to begin helium-3 mining in earnest within the next decade of our government won't get off its collective ass to do something about it. I mean, they're already talking about manned moon missions in the 2030's. Who knows when they'll start thinking of permanent colonies there? If they solve the energy issue in-situ, they might even be able to run a sustainable artificial gravity facility and mitigate the deleterious effects of microgravity on the human physiology.

[@lucasmarquediene230]

Science with John Lennon

[@XYZB0RG]

came for brainstorming for a sci-fi project, stayed because wow helium-3 is insanely efficient and nobody talks about it

[@cri8tor]

I takes 1 metric ton of H3 to supply energy for about ten-million people for only one year. What I'm worried about is what removing all that material for global consumption will do to the stability of the moon and it's effect on tidal action of the Earth. We have no idea what the consequences may or may not be. The removal of as little as 10-tons may have a huge effect that is not predictable.

[@tommyzDad]

The moon is a harsh mistress.

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

The video was based on what the different counties were claiming at the time I made it. NASA still publishes a mid-2019 return date. And Russia as you state now claims 2025 rather than the 2015 figure it put out in 2006.

[@freethinker8230]

This Video only scratches the top surface of Helium3 mining. I would like to know more about the actual actraction process. What about the problem of the scarcity of Helium3 in the moon Regolith? Also, why not collect Helium3 from Mercury, which should have much higher concentration of Helium3 because it is a lot closer to the source. Other good alternatives for Herlium 3 would be Uranus. What is also missing are some sanity checks, like is it actualy cheaper than exisitng sources Helium3, namely Tritium degration ino Helium3. What about creating it in charged particle accelerators? All alternatives need to be considered

[@joshmnky]

I totally agree with you on the cost if you want to bring them up from the ground, but for the scale of the project we would want to establish a manufacturing foothold in space. That may still be expensive, but it would lead to opportunities far beyond power on Earth. As for transmitting it to the ground, very promising tests have been conducted with microwave power transmission. Possible efficiencies are in the 90%+ range.

[@barkasmedia]

@ExplainingTheFuture i will Sir!

[@KR4FTW3RK]

A few years ago i had the idea of building some kind of a large tube with magnets in it which create a magnetic field which forces things forward (yeah like a gauss rifle but a lot bigger) if you now put a spacecraft in it (possibly wihout any living persons onboard because the start would be pretty rough so its only a spacecraft to get machines or raw material in the orbit or to a planet) the spaceship gets a lot of speed and should be able to leave the atmosphere if its started on the ground

[@barkasmedia]

wow that puppet is so live like! but why is the puppeteer not mentioned in the credits??

[@cowofthemonth]

Thorium fission gets my vote. Abundant element, no chance of meltdown, can burn its own waste. And can burn existing waste from uranium reactors. Amazing stuff.

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Indeed. There anything potentially really good can become a source of major conflict.

[@narutowindel]

The future is now!!

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

It is indeed.

[@jezus22]

well, interesting, however, your head movement and gesticulation draw my attention

[@InnocentByproduct]

Very helpful, thank you! :) And who are the haters who gave me 3 "thumbs downs" because I asked a question? Shees! I thought this was an educational channel where questions get asked and stuff gets learned. Is there an entire group of people who have zero desire for non-scientific people to learn from Christopher Barnatt? Is this an exclusivity club where only the choir is allowed to get preached to? Way to go on upping the number of views repeat-watchers that Barnatt gets, guys.

[@JokaGaming2K10]

Seiing this video in 2023 is kinda nostalgic, the intro and the voice looks like you are in a spaceship

[@xermasboo5401]

Just to add some plausible areas but wouldn't the moons and other planetoid objects with weak or no atmosphere be viable candidates like Jupiter's Titan, water based ice on asteroids, and extended phases for them like pulse technology?For the Lasers I would Imagine it would be much more efficient to build a few relay and transfer stations with each one acting as an amplifier to a centralized one with in Geo-synchronized orbit. Reason is that when you try to account the distance, solar flares, Earth's Atmosphere, and Receiver array with multiple currencies that would require either a Exa-scale supercomputer on bother ends or at least various relays until laser tech. gets to be able to launch a 6m beam for 30 minutes from earth to half way to the moon to be a viable 1 way beam or a 2 way intercommunication & relay beam.I am only putting this out cause I think if going this way we need to alternate like wires. With wireless communication being the beam and the relays being the wires with alternating currents as they store as much as near possible then sending the excess to the next say 500-1000 miles and keep repeating until it reaches the final destination relay before sending it to Earth so that it loses the least amount of energy.I really want to see this cause I read that if applied to ships there would be barely any limits to the size and thus making space the most viable in terms of humanities future.

[@psammiad]

Reminds me of those 1970s Open University programmes!

[@joshmnky]

That actually brings up another point. With all the trouble we go through to get Helium-3, why don't we just use solar? We could even make solar power satellites for the money we would spend. I don't see why we'd want He-3 unless we wanted to use it for fusion rocket fuel.

[@sMAXtie]

I love the book of Frank Schätzing "Limit", it's awesome and matter of the mining of He-3. I don't know how popular it is in the USA or UK, but here in Germany it's a best-seller.

[@Gewy]

I was thinking about this also. I wonder what would happen lets say if we built a structure on the moon weighing 40 tons and then extracted 40 tons of minerals? Sort of a trade.

[@jcolebusi]

Outer space treaty: Art. II of the Treaty states, in fact, that "outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means". I think your talking about the Moon Treaty. which most countries have not signed.

[@sumguyy7729]

wasn't helium3 traces found (evaporated) in the area of the roswell crash incident?

[@Detailedstream]

Can they Load Helium-3 with Space Shuttle External tank

[@thefire556]

Another video for the public could be about thorium nuclear energy. It relies on fission but instead of uranium uses thorium wich is more than 10 times as common as uranium 235 luiqified flourid thorium reactor

[@purplesprings3992]

Wow 10 years old now

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Time does indeed fly! :)

[@FlexBlur]

Well this is pretty interesting ! But I wonder if we really need Helium-3, and how much will it cost to build space shuttles ? Do we have enough fuel on earth to run these huge machines ?

[@ShizukanaEntertainment]

2024 checking in. What about that base?

[@unimatrix82]

i always thought helium -3 was a term made for the mass effect game

[@porsa0]

Indeed!

[@SailorBarsoom]

@WolYou I live in an upstairs apartment. How do I tap geothermal, wind, or even solar? This sort of "live off the grid" stuff is fine for people who own a farm, ranch, or large country estate. For us poor or middle class city dwellers, it doesn't provide much of an option.

[@AsiaHerbs]

15 years ago wow now it start to be trending....

[@victorwilliam9987]

Brother I am from 2022 and non of that have happened yet😄

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Sadly not. The 2007/8 financial crash resulted in a lot of space project being cancelled.

[@Joe-xo4yg]

@Alkad Algdud and a rather astonishing 14 years ahead of the curve 🤓 Artemis approves of this man’s aim

[@vmelkon]

Why is there a containment problem with deuterium + tritium? Also, fusion is not a source of power yet, so there is no point to get He3.

[@icevrething]

2:25 How was this claim substantiated? What methods were employed?

[@shantanughumatkar3505]

And thank for knowledge

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

@HauntinHorror The main problems are the logistical ones: getting to the Moon, and mining, crushing and super-heating vast quantities of lunar rock when there. We also need to make nuclear fusion work -- Google the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) for more information on what is going on there. An even bigger problem is getting long-term committments to this kind of project in the current world financial climate. This cannot be a short-term undertaking.

[@Whitsy-cx1ph]

What would happen if a space craft carrying 25 ton of helium 3 was returning to earth and burned up during re-entry. Probably not good.

[@lvl69engineer]

He claims that the economic value of helium-3 is about 3 billion per ton...but the cost of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket cost alone was about $83-billion in 2005 dollars. Now, I know alot of that went into engineering and testing costs, so let's say that in terms of fuel it costs 1.5 billion to get to the moon and back...you still have to refine the helium-3 on the moon, and the shuttle is only designed for LEO. In order to make this viable we still need cheaper launch technologies.

[@anthonytrigilio9335]

Alexis Vlachogiannis. Im interested in your comment. Could you elaborate a little more? One question i have about this video (open for everyone to answer) even if we we're able to mine H-3 from the moon, after a considerable amount was gathered, what new effects would the moon have on earth? Cause' the moon plays a role in high/low tides (if im correct) so i wonder how that might come into play. Just as an example

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

@bobafetthotmail I agree that the shuttle is/was hardly the best vehicle to go to the Moon. However, I don't think the propellant argument holds water. Fuel would only be needed to get out of Earth orbit and to get the shuttle moving in the right direction. In the vaccum of space there is no drag, so fuel is only needed for acceleration, not maintaining velocity. So, with maybe a bit of extra fuel, a shuttle could in theory make lunar orbit -- and return! :-)

[@linandy1]

wait wait wait... I thought there was cheese in the moon ?!?

[@Devilock79]

We already have copious amounts of clean, renewable energy waiting to be harnessed. The only problem is that renewable energy has such a small profit margin (if any) that big business won't even consider it. Thanks capitalism, you make the world such a great place to live.

[@costrio]

How much of it is there on the Moon? It sounds as if tritium is a non-renewable resource. How long before it would run out?

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

@plavins1 Excellent idea! :-)

[@sinOsiris]

geothermal energy power plant spread throughout localized assurance ---- helium 3 a good push towards more space based activities.... but outside boundary of earth besides the risks in power play geopolitics etc

[@thatvansprangthang]

The absorption of the left over Proton causes direct net electricity generation boosting the electromagnetic field, So how do you harvest the boosted electromagnetic field ?

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

@Films4You Yes, I know the shuttle can't go to the Moon. Well, they SAY it can't. Though why a craft that can make Earth orbit can't make the journey into lunar orbit with relatively few modifications has never really been clear . . .

[@Roaring2Thunder]

Hmm, would it be possible to make a Helium 3 reactor on a spacecraft?

[@MiniMotoAlliance]

Hmmmmm, yes 1970’s John Lennon, tell me more.

[@MsHejsan123456]

I dont doubt that we will mine the moon in the near future. The real question we should ask ourselves is are we gonna destroy the moon like we have destroyed the earth?

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

The sad answer is most probably "yes". :(

[@complex_variation]

well, there is less life there than here.

[@XYZB0RG]

no cost is too great at the reward of space travel. if destroying a planet or two means we will be able to explore, settle on, cultivate and grow an infinite amount in the future it's worth it.

[@spencerhenchen7526]

Jesus Christ, you look like the combination of Christopher Walken and one of the Beatles

[@doggonemess1]

+Spencer Henchen And Max Headroom.

[@dewille-pl]

Lennon incarnate as astrophysicist

[@HardKore5250]

?

[@johnaddisoncull]

John.

[@chrisreid5745]

He talks with his soldiers too.

[@Genuine-Friend]

Is 6 billion dollars a ton cost effective, when it cost 1 million per pound to get a ship into space

[@brianbrewster6532]

Well, it's March of 2019 - and so far only China has landed a rover on the Moon. No country has built any lunar settlement. What a pity!

[@ExplainingTheFuture]

Sadly the financial crisis hit shortly after this video was made. And many grand plans for space were scrapped.

[@hankcovey4420]

What would it take to set up a mining colony on the moon. Remember that this is not impossible, only mathematically improbable. Who it be feasible to try to bring large quantities of helium three safety to earth in one haul, or set an orbital station where large supplies can be stored to be shipped to the planet in lower amounts?

[@Treblaine]

@tomanyasses yes, factoring in new renewable energy technologies really doesn't make Helium-3 much of a near-term energy source. Maybe then lunar-mining (for helium-3 at least) will not till be LONG after we have all died of old age.

[@xati5135]

roflmfao, dude the low key plug in the first 10 seconds of the video, welcome to explaining the future........ .com. lmfaoooo dude probly thought that was so slick and a great way to do it. just made my day laughing how dumb that was.. thank you for that that was fucking funny as hell

[@Axelv07]

Be careful of the aliens that reside on the dark side of the room.