China Starts The Moon Mining Race With Three Missions Planned To Dig Future Energy Source
China plans on launching three unmanned missions to the moon following its discovery of a lunar material containing helium-3, touted to be a future source of energy.
Beijing’s National Space Administration aims to unearth unmoon the mineral it is calling Changesite-(Y), a lunar resource discovered from the rock samples gathered by Chang’e-5 mission in 2020. The agency has received the approval to launch three orbiters over the next 10 years.
The announcement could mark the resumption of the space race among China, US, and Russia–the leading countries with space programs. The US–the first one to put a man on the moon–hasn’t been able to repeat the feat since 1972, while its recent moon-bound unmanned mission Artemis I has been delayed for a second time.
Beijing described the lunar material as a “phosphate mineral in columnar crystal” found in lunar rock particles.
The commodities and energy war currently happening on Earth might extend on its only natural satellite as NASA probes the moon’s south pole where China plans to build a research station in conjunction with Russia.
A 2017 University of Wisconsin paper estimates that the solar wind has deposited around 1 million tons of helium-3 on the moon’s surface. Experts, however, are not yet convinced that extraterrestrial mining of the mineral for commercial use is relatively feasible.
Information for this briefing was found via Business Insider and China Daily. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
