China
Africa
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Introduction and background
Published in Louis Brennan, Loizos Heracleous, Alessandra Vecchi, Above and Beyond, 2018
Louis Brennan, Loizos Heracleous, Alessandra Vecchi
In September 2010, it was announced that China is also planning to carry out explorations in deep space by sending a man to the moon by 2025. China also hopes to bring a moon rock sample back to earth in 2017, and subsequently build an observatory on the moon's surface. On 14 December 2013 China's Chang'e 3 became the first object to soft-land on the moon since Luna 24 in 1976. As indicated by the official Chinese Lunar Exploration Program insignia, denoted by à calligraphic moon ideogram (月) in the shape of a nascent lunar crescent, with two human footsteps at its center, the ultimate goal of the programme is to establish a permanent human presence on the earth's natural satellite. It was acknowledged that building a lunar base would be a crucial step to realize a flight to Mars and farther planets. However, since the whole project is only at a very early preliminary phase, no official moon programme has been announced yet by the authorities. Its existence is nonetheless revealed by regular intentional leaks in the media such as the Lunar Roving Vehicle that was shown on a Chinese TV channel during the 2008 May Day celebrations.
Development of an Advanced-Fuel Nuclear Fusion Experiment
Published in Fusion Science and Technology, 2021
S. Meschini, M. Zucchetti, Enrico Pagliuca
In the last decade, lunar mining has gained popularity again, boosted by technological advancements in space exploration and by the huge investments in commercial fusion. Indeed, setting a base on the Moon is in the plans of countries with ambitious space programs, as well as private companies that have gained trust and momentum in the last years. A new lunar miner prototype, MARK IV, has been investigated to improve the previous design of the MARK 3 (Ref. 11), which was based on the original MARK 2. Reducing the mass to meet payload constraint, improving the regolith heating system to process larger amounts, and testing available systems for cooling or compressing volatiles to store them, are the main goals of the new design. NASA, in collaboration with private companies and international organizations, has recently presented the Artemis Lunar Exploration Program, with the ambitious goal of again bringing a crew to the Moon by 2024 (Ref. 12). Bringing back to Earth 35 kg of materials is one of the most relevant objectives of this mission from the 3He mining perspective. Artemis will pave the way for a sustained presence of men on the Moon, in preparation for human exploration of Mars. A gateway composed of two modules will provide basic life support for astronauts coming from Earth and prepare them for the lunar landing. A communication network will be established to allow direct connection between the Moon and Earth at a speed comparable to current technologies on Earth. All these steps will establish a suitable structure for lunar mining. In situ resource utilization, power production during day and night, and excavation and construction capabilities will be tested during the mission. Hence, a lunar base to start mining activities is not so far in the future, and may come even before humans achieve a net power gain by fusion reactors. The energy required by the base can be produced by mature technologies, such as solar panels or small nuclear fission reactors (e.g., Kilopower), or lately, by fusion reactors themselves, with the major advantage of in situ fuel extraction. Helium-3 extraction also provides a considerable amount of hydrogen, which can be exploited to produce water or propellants for the lunar base. Finally, 3He itself may be used as fuel for a direct fusion drive, enabling manned and unmanned missions to Mars and to further solar system objects.13,14 The fusion community should take advantage of the strong synergies among 3He-based fusion reactors and 3He mining and space exploration. Shared objectives may be extremely beneficial to developing and improving core technologies. At the same time, the construction of a D-3He or 3He-3He reactor on Earth would set a demand for 3He that will give a market push to lunar mining.