Hyperdrive
The Quest to Find a Trillion-Dollar Nuclear Fuel on the Moon
- India launching moon rover to search for helium-3 deposits
- Helium-3 could power Earth’s needs for centuries, expert says
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India’s space program wants to go where no nation has gone before -– to the south side of the moon. And once it gets there, it will study the potential for mining a source of waste-free nuclear energy that could be worth trillions of dollars.
The nation’s equivalent of NASA will launch a rover in October to explore virgin territory on the lunar surface and analyze crust samples for signs of water and helium-3. That isotope is limited on Earth yet so abundant on the moon that it theoretically could meet global energy demands for 250 years if harnessed.