Lunar Mining of Helium-3

There is no doubt that one of the most difficult problems that a peaceful world will face in the 21st century will be to secure an adequate, safe, clean, and economical source of energy. Existence of lunar helium-3, to be used as fuel for fusion reactors, is well documented; verified from numerous Apollo and Luna mission samples, current analyses indicate that there are at least 1 million tonnes embedded in the lunar surface. The helium-3 would be used as fuel for fusion reactors.

FTI Publications

Results: 1 to 40 of 81 order by: UWFDM AuthorTitle Date
1   2  3 

UWFDM-676   Lunar Source of He-3 for Commercial Fusion Power; L.J. Wittenberg, J.F. Santarius and G.L. Kulcinski, March 1986 [published in Fusion Technology 10, 167 (1986)]. (37 pages, 1.6 MB)

UWFDM-742   Helium-3 Fueling Concepts for Magnetically Confined Fusion; L.J. Wittenberg, October 1987 [Presented at the 12th Symposium on Fusion Engineering, 12-16 October 1987, Monterey CA]. (6 pages, 707 kB)

UWFDM-769   Terrestrial Sources of Helium-3 Fusion Fuel - A Trip to the Center of the Earth; Layton J. Wittenberg, October 1988 (revised November 1988)  [presented at the 8th Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, 9-13 October 1988, Salt Lake City UT]. (7 pages, 933 kB)

UWFDM-814   Pellet Fueling of Helium-3 Enclosed in Li and Be Shells; Layton J. Wittenberg, October 1989 [Presented at the 13th Symposium on Fusion Engineering, 2-6 October 1989, Knoxville TN]. (7 pages, 544 kB)

UWFDM-961   The Early Sun: Precursor to Helium and Neon Isotopes in the Earth; L.J. Wittenberg, July 1994 [oral presentation at the Eighth International Conference on Geochronology and Isotope Geology, June 5-11, 1994, Berkeley CA]. (24 pages, 459 kB)

UWFDM-967   Non-Lunar 3He Resources; L.J. Wittenberg, July 1994 (revised July 1994)  [presented at the Second Wisconsin Symposium on Helium-3 and Fusion Power, 19-21 July 1993, Madison WI]. (30 pages, 600 kB)

FPA-94-4   The Early Sun: Precursor to Helium and Neon Isotopes in the Earth; L.J. Wittenberg, July 1994 [oral presentation at the Eighth International Conference on Geochronology and Isotope Geology, June 5-11, 1994, Berkeley CA (also UWFDM-961)].

FPA-94-5   Non-Lunar 3He Resources; L.J. Wittenberg, July 1994 [presented at the Second Wisconsin Symposium on Helium-3 and Fusion Power, 19-21 July 1993, Madison WI; addendum added July 1994 (also UWFDM-967)].

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9107-1   A Review of Helium-3 Resources and Acquisition for Use as Fusion Fuel; L.J. Wittenberg, E.N. Cameron, G.L. Kulcinski, S.H. Ott, J.F. Santarius, G.I. Sviatoslavsky, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, H. Thompson, October 1991 [Published in Fusion Technology, Special Issue on DHe3 Fusion, Vol. 21 (4) 2230-2253]. (68 pages, 1.5 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-1   In-situ Release of Solar Wind Gases from the Lunar Soil; L.J. Wittenberg, January 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (12 pages, 251 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9311-3   In-Situ Extraction of Lunar Soil Volatiles; L.J. Wittenberg, November 1993 [Prepared for Space 94, The 4th International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction and Operations in Space, and The Conference and Exposition/Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Environments, February 26 - March 3, 1994, Albuquerque NM]. (12 pages, 251 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-4   Isotopic Separation of 3He/4He from Solar Wind Gases Evolved from the Lunar Regolith; W.R. Wilkes and L.J. Wittenberg, January 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (10 pages, 903 kB) [more]

UWFDM-1003   A Current Bibliography of Helium-3 Research; S.W. White, January 1996. (143 pages, 8.0 MB)

UWFDM-1093   Net Energy Payback and CO2 Emissions from Helium-3 Fusion and Wind Electrical Power Plants; Scott W. White, December 1998 [Ph.D. thesis]. (182 pages, 7.9 MB)

UWFDM-1103   Helium-3 on the Moon for Fusion Energy: the Persian Gulf of the 21st Century; L.A. Taylor and G.L. Kulcinski, May 1999 [published in Solar System Research, Vol. 33, No. 5, 1999, pp. 338-345]. [more]

WCSAR-TR-AR3-8808-1   Mobile Helium-3 Mining and Extraction System and Its Benefits Toward Lunar Base Self-Sufficiency; I.N. Sviatoslavsky and M. Jacobs, August 1988. (14 pages, 1.6 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-2   Lunar He-3 Mining: Improvements on the Design of the UW Mark II Lunar Miner; I.N. Sviatoslavsky, January 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (14 pages, 556 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9311-2   The Challenge of Mining He-3 on the Lunar Surface: How All the Parts Fit Together; I.N. Sviatoslavsky, November 1993 [Prepared for Space 94, The 4th International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction and Operations in Space, and The Conference and Exposition/Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Environments, February 26 - March 3, 1994, Albuquerque NM]. (12 pages, 413 kB)

UWFDM-1120   Solar-Wind Hydrogen at the Lunar Poles; H.H. Schmitt, G.L. Kulcinski, J.F. Santarius, J. Ding, M.J. Malecki, M.J. Zalewski, February 2000 [Presented at SPACE 2000, The Seventh International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Business in Space, Albuquerque NM, 27 February - 2 March 2000; published in the Proceedings, pp. 653-660]. (11 pages, 204 kB)

UWFDM-1121   Source and Implications of Large Lunar Basin-Forming Objects; H.H. Schmitt, March 2000 [Presented at the 31st Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston TX, 13-17 March 2000]. (4 pages, 83 kB)

UWFDM-1187   Lunar Cataclysm? Depends On What ``Cataclysm'' Means; Harrison H. Schmitt, March 2001 [Paper \#1133, 32nd Lunar and Planetary Conference, 12-16 March 2001, Houston TX]. (4 pages, 537 kB)

UWFDM-1189   A Lunar Field Geologist's Perspective 30 Years Later: Shocking Revelations About the Moon, Mars and Earth; Harrison H. Schmitt, October 2002 [2002 G.K. Gilbert Lecture, Annual Meeting and Exposition of the Geological Society of America, Planetary Geology Division, 27-30 October 2002, Denver CO]. (11 pages, 1.2 MB)

UWFDM-1190   Return to the Moon; Harrison H. Schmitt, December 2002 [Accepted essay for a forthcoming book, ``Our Worlds 2,'' edited by Alan Stern]. (10 pages, 907 kB)

UWFDM-1191   Business Approach To Lunar Base Activation; Harrison H. Schmitt, December 2002 [accepted by the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF-2003), 2-5 February 2003, Albuquerque NM]. (8 pages, 750 kB)

UWFDM-1192   Business Context of Space Tourism; Harrison H. Schmitt, December 2002 [accepted by the Space Technology and Applications International Forum (STAIF-2003), 2-5 February 2003, Albuquerque NM]. (6 pages, 594 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9203-1   Spiral Mining for Lunar Volatiles; H.H. Schmitt, G.L. Kulcinski, I.N. Sviatoslavsky, W.D. Carrier III, March 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (11 pages, 959 kB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9203-2   INTERLUNE Concept for Helium-3 Lunar Development; H.H. Schmitt, March 1992 [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]. (13 pages, 1.1 MB)

WCSAR-TR-AR3-9304-2   Helium-3: The Space Connection; H.H. Schmitt and G.L. Kulcinski, April 1993 [presented at the 9th National Space Symposium, Colorado Springs CO, 13-16 April 1993]. (31 pages, 1.4 MB)

retrieve PDF Early Lunar Impact Events: Terrestrial and Solar System Implication; H.H. Schmitt, October 1999 [Presented at the Geological Society of America 1999 Annual Meeting and Exposition, Denver CO, 23-28 October 1999]. (10 pages, 93 kB)

retrieve PDF Perspectives on Helium-3 Fusion: Year 2000; H.H. Schmitt, October 1999 [Presented at the Space Resources Utilization Roundtable, Colorado School of Mines, Golden CO, 27-29 October 1999]. (9 pages, 122 kB)

retrieve PDF Solar-Wind Hydrogen at the Lunar Poles; H.H. Schmitt, G.L. Kulcinski, J.F. Santarius, J. Ding, M.J. Malecki, M.J. Zalewski, March 2000 [Presented at SPACE 2000, The Seventh International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, Operations, and Business in Space, Albuquerque NM, 27 February - 2 March 2000]. (15 pages, 169 kB)

retrieve PDF Energy, Politics and Space; H.H. Schmitt, September 2004 [presented at the 16th ANS Topical Meeting on Fusion Energy, 14-16 September 2004, Madison WI]. (16 pages, 165 kB)

UWFDM-764   Lunar He3, Fusion Propulsion, and Space Development; J.F. Santarius, June 1988 (revised August 1988)  [Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century (NASA Conf. Pub. 3166, Vol. 2 (1992) 459]. (31 pages, 1.4 MB)

UWFDM-794   Astrofuel - An Energy Source for the 21st Century; J.F. Santarius and G.L. Kulcinski, July 1989 [Wisconsin Professional Engineer 30:6 (1989) 14]. (14 pages, 456 kB)

UWFDM-972   Advanced-Fuel Heat Flux, Power Density and Direct Conversion Issues; J.F. Santarius, November 1994 [Presented at the Sixth International Toki Conference, Toki-City, Japan, 29 November - 2 December 1994; published in Fusion Technology 27 (April 1995)]. (7 pages, 744 kB)

UWFDM-1062   Could Advanced Fusion Fuels Be Used with Today's Technology?; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, L.A. El-Guebaly, H.Y. Khater, January 1998 [presented at Fusion Power Associates Annual Meeting, August 27-29, 1997, Aspen CO; Journal of Fusion Energy, Vol. 17, No. 1, 1998, p. 33]. (18 pages, 828 kB)

UWFDM-1214   A Passively Proliferation-Proof Fusion Power Plant; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, L.A. El-Guebaly, November 2002 [presented at the 15th ANS Topical Meeting on Technology of Fusion Energy, 17-21 November 2002, Washington DC; published in Fusion Science and Technology 44, 289 (2003)]. (8 pages, 669 kB)

UWFDM-1291   A Strategy for D-3He Fusion Development; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, G.H. Miley, June 2006 [presented at the ANS Annual Meeting, 4-8 June 2006, Reno NV]. (5 pages, 657 kB) [more]

retrieve PDF A Passively Proliferation-Proof Fusion Power Plant; J.F. Santarius, G.L. Kulcinski, L.A. El-Guebaly, November 2002 [presented at the 15th ANS Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy, 17-21 November 2002, Washington, DC]. (1 page, 1.2 MB)

retrieve PDF D-3He Physics and Fusion Energy Prospects; J.F. Santarius and G.L. Kulcinski, May 2004 [presented at the Innovative Confinement Concepts Workshop, Madison, Wisconsin, 25-28 May 2004]. (1 page, 1.1 MB)


Results: 1 to 40 of 81 order by: UWFDM AuthorTitle Date
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