Download - Moon
RETURN TO THE MOON?Jackson Embrey, James Fedrovski;
Brent Schafer, Spencer Kelly, Maxwell Zhou
A presentation by the following gentlemen:
4.5 Billion years ago
Giant Impact:
Meteor hits Earth
4.1-4.5 Billion years ago
Differentiation:
Moon is still hot
Materials settle by density
3.8-4.1 Billion years ago
Late Heavy Bombardment:
Large objects hitting the
lunar surface
Impact basins form
2.0-3.8 Billion years ago
Geologic Activity:
Mare surfaces created by lava
flows
Present Day
Big Chill:
Moon is geologically dead, only
impacts modify the surface
Geologic History
Climate• Fairly simple.• Temperature range: 123° C to -233° C
– That’s 253° F down to -387° F!• Each day is 27.3 Earth days long
No atmosphere, weathering, or geologic activity
History of Exploration• President JFK challenges the nation to visit the Moon by the
end of the decade• USSR and the US each have several successful manned orbits
of Earth• USSR’s Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to land safely on the
Moon• US’s Surveyor 1 lands on the Moon 4 months behind Soviets• US wins space race by sending a man to the Moon• US Apollo 17, last US mission to have men walk on the Moon• Chinese land the Chang'e 3 rover on the Moon
1961 1963 1966 1966 1969 1972 2013
Reasons for Boots on the Moon
• Moon is closest astronomical body to the Earth– Travel time to Moon is in days, Mars takes months
• Moon has no atmosphere– Allows testing of environmental systems– Also useful for astronomical equipment
• Physically going to the Moon means more precise data– Seismic scans, Age dating, rock composition, etc.– We use the Moon as an analog for other terrestrial bodies
• Microgravity environment complicates many processes– Allows for testing of equipment for Martian microgravity/
micro-atmosphere environment
Feasible Travel No Atmosphere Data Collecting Micro-Gravity
Woo!
Helium-3 (3He)• The Helium-3 nuclear fusion
reaction leaves behind no radioactive byproduct
• Nuclear reactions are 70% efficient– 20% more efficient than coal
• or natural gas• Apollo missions have confirmed the
existence of Helium-3– which exists on the moon because
there’s no atmosphere/magnetic field
Return Investments from Space?• Space missions: Helium-3 from Jupiter
– But not yet (at least with today’s technology)– Helium-3 fusion needs to become more
industrialized• So far only a small amount of Helium-3 can be
produced at a time• Other economics motives:
– satellite communication– potential lunar space stations
“Any large-scale private initiative focused on a return to the Moon will have as its ultimate aim a return on investment from production and sale of lunar resources and terrestrial power”
Money to be Made• 1 metric ton of Helium-3
– sells for about $3 billion• 25 metric tons of Helium-3
– are required to meet the US yearly energy needs• 100 metric tons of Helium-3
– are required to meet world wide energy needs
• 4 missions at full capacity would cost $6.8 billion plus mining costs
• $300 billion gross income yearly
• A space shuttle is able to carry 25 metric tons of Helium-3 per trip
• 1.1 million metric tons of Helium-3 on the moon• The net worth of the Moon would be $3.3 quadrillion