As more countries and companies set their
sights on space, it may make you wonder, what’s the end goal? Do we simply want to be a space
faring species? Exploring the solar system for the betterment of humanity? Or do people
smell profit in space? While researching this video, I found out a lot of eye-opening reasons
why mining in space, and especially on our Moon, might well be something we see happening
in the next couple of decades. Why? Well, just wait until you find out what’s actually
there to be mined. The first substance is known as Helium-3. You may have heard of Helium-3
in sci-fi stories, as theories suggest it is the ideal substance for a clean type of
nuclear reactor, with no radiation and no dangerous by-product. It also has uses in
medicine and radiation detectors. However, it is really rare on Earth. It does occur
naturally, and can be found in deposits of natural gas, for instance. But it’s generally
not viable to extract, as even in natural gas, there are only around 100 parts per billion.
So, let’s say we had 1 billion m³ of natural gas, you’d only be able to extract around
15kg of Helium-3 from it. A lot of the time, that’s not economically viable. We can also
produce Helium-3 as a by-product of the radioactive decay of tritium. The problem with that though,
is that tritium is a crucial component of nuclear weapons, and so when the world slowed
down the production of nuclear weapons, Helium-3 stockpiles also started to diminish. Assuming
we don’t want more tritium in the world, it means we need to find another source of
Helium-3, especially if technology improves enough for Helium-3 reactors to become a reality.
Fortunately, we have a world in orbit around Earth right now which has been bombarded by
helium-3 for billions of years, thanks to the Sun. Earth’s magnetic field deflects
Helium-3 traveling with the solar wind around the planet, whereas the Moon, with no magnetic
field for protection, simply absorbs it in the top layer of the ground, called regolith.
We aren’t talking huge quantities, it has at most 50 parts per billion, but because
it is all over the Moon, not just in tiny pockets, it can be collected alongside any
other mining operation. It could also be used to power reactors on the Moon itself, which
would help a moon base be self-sufficient. Some people think that Helium-3 mining on
the moon will not be viable, however China states that eventually mining Helium-3 is
one of the primary goals of their Chinese Lunar Exploration Program. American, European
and Indian scientists have all stated it is something they will consider further, and
Russia is conducting a feasibility study on this right now. Even private companies are
eyeing up the possibility. Because the parts per billion of Helium-3 are relatively low,
even in the Moon’s regolith, it would make sense that whoever was mining for Helium-3
would also be mining for something else in the regolith at the same time. But what else
can be found in it? As it happens, the lunar regolith is packed with different minerals.
Look at this false colour mosaic of the Moon, each colour indicating different deposits
of minerals found on the lunar surface. There are plenty of metals to be found on the Moon
in large quantities, like iron, titanium, aluminium, silicon, calcium, and magnesium.
Some of these metals are locked into hard to access minerals and oxides, however, separating
the metals will also often produce useful by-products like oxygen and hydrogen. They
are super basic, and not rare on Earth at all, but unlocking these elements on the Moon
itself will allow for a colony to be self-sustaining, as oxygen means breathable air, hydrogen can
be converted to fuel, and combining the two will produce water. Unprocessed regolith could
also prove useful, as it could potentially be turned into “lunarcrete”, useful for
building infrastructure on the Moon without having to transport the materials from Earth.
Glass could also easily be produced from lunar regolith. And as I mentioned in a previous
video, while it’s not super ideal, some plants can grow in lunar regolith, helping
any lunar base to be self-sufficient in growing its own food, short of using hydroponics.
But perhaps the most important resource found on the Moon are - ironically enough - metals
known as “rare-earths”. Interestingly, rare-earths, which consist of this section
of the periodic table, are not actually super rare on Earth, however the difficulty in mining
them is that they have not really collected into big deposits. Rather, they are dispersed
through the Earth’s crust. This means that they are exceptionally hard to mine on Earth,
and there are only a few countries worldwide that have deposits large enough to do anything
about it. Even then, most countries don’t bother at all because of the massive environmental
and human damages that come from the pollution of mining them. The only country that did
not waver from these problems is China, as China has around 30% of the planet’s rare-Earth
supply, and because it is one of the only countries mining for them, they have a 95%
control of the market. However, just as a side note, one of its big mines was actually
found in Myanmar, and with the military coup that just took place, there may have been
a shift in that mine’s control. In any case, 95% control of the market puts China in a
powerful position worldwide, especially seeing as these minerals are so valuable to our society,
being components of various electronics and batteries. Because of the massive push recently
to switch to electric vehicles with their huge battery packs, demand for these materials
will only increase, so it’s worthwhile considering where the minerals building the batteries
come from. Are countries with somewhat sizeable deposits, like the US, Canada, Australia,
and South Africa going to start digging up their backyard to extract them? Or rather
than pollute the Earth further in our attempt to go green, is it actually more feasible
to get these rare-earths off the Moon instead? Rare-Earths aren’t any more common on the
Moon than on Earth, however, some deposits have already been identified, and pollution
on the Moon will certainly not have any of the devastating environmental and human consequences
attached to doing it here. As demand for these elements inevitably goes up in the coming
decades, it could well be that mining for them on the Moon becomes economically viable.
And not only that, but a control on the market means control of the market price and whichever
country is in control will have a tremendous advantage. Will it be China, maintaining their
position? Or will some of the other space faring countries and companies want a piece
of the pie? Only time will tell. Which leads on to another curious question, who actually
has mining rights on the Moon? Well, it’s a bit unclear. The main space treaty, which
most countries in the world have signed up to, is called the Outer Space Treaty, and
covers things like disallowing weapons of mass destruction in space, disallowing military
bases in space, and disallowing claiming any celestial body. However, it doesn’t really
cover mining. Other treaties have been put forward which would cover mining in space,
but so far only non-space faring countries have signed up for it. Right now, it could
just be a matter of first come, first served. So, there we have it, a look into the future
of what may occur on the surface of the moon. What do you think, can mining on the Moon
ever be worthwhile, or is it an expensive, dangerous pipe dream? I’d love to hear your
thoughts in the comments below. Thanks for watching! Did you enjoy the video? Then I
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