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