Space Mining
Reloquence is exploring a range of possibilities for landing sites and destinations on the Moon, including locations that are thought to be rich in helium-3 (He-3) or would provide natural shelters for human explorers.
An abundance of domes, cones, and volcanic rilles and channels is characteristic of the Marius Hills. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter photographed a pit that could be a skylight in a lava tube, indicating that part of its roof has collapsed, as often happens after lava tubes cease to be active. Rilles are collapsed lava tubes. Lava tubes that are still intact could provide natural shelters for human explorers.
Mining the Moon
“Frameworks such as the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act and the Artemis Accords enhance property rights by providing clear expectations of the benefits one can receive from their investment and providing a list of principles that partner nations will follow as a way to encourage economic activity in space.“
- Chapter 8, CEA 2020 Annual Report, Exploring New Frontiers in Space Policy and Property Rights
The Eskey System lays the groundwork for multiple use cases, including applying the lunar post roads towards determining territorial boundaries on the Moon, similar to the deconfliction “safety zones” as defined by NASA’s Artemis Accords. Post roads could be utilized to resolve territorial disputes, and unlike safety zones, are permanent in nature and have legal precedents on earth. The framework approaches the boundaries of the international space treaties without crossing them. Legislation to provide private space miners rights to the natural planetary resources could imply the same rights for the private planetary roads.
He-3 is a rare isotope on Earth, but due to solar winds and no atmosphere, is found in abundance on the Moon. Helium‑3 represents the most significant potential in the field of energy. This non-radioactive isotope is an ideal fuel for the operation of a fusion reactor; it consists of fusing helium‑3 with deuterium, with the advantage of not producing neutrons. Although it is still in its experimental stages, the ability to contain such energy in the reactor’s containment chamber could make it a viable energy source.
Among other advantages, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used in the production of solar cells. NASA has indicated that in-situ resource utilization will be a key aspect of sustained human presence on the Moon. Instruments and equipment constructed using titanium dioxide could provide effective shields against UV light or could use light to promote useful chemical reactions for purifying air or water. Substantial areas of high TiO2 regolith are indicated by remote sensing in Oceanus Procellarum, Mare Imbrium, Mare Humorum and Mare Nubium, and smaller areas occur in Mare Insularum and southwest of Mare Serenitatis. Core samples from Mare Tranquillitatis were collected during Apollo 11 and contain some of the highest concentrations of helium. Although high titanium regolith with He in excess of 30 wppm was found by Apollo 17 in the Taurus-Littrow area, along the SE side of Mare Serenitatis, this appears to be a northern extension of the regolith of Tranquillitatis.
The He content of mare regolith is a function of its composition. In particular, the helium content is related to its TiO2 content. Regolith enriched in TiO2 is likewise enriched in helium. The TiO2 content, as indicated by remote sensing, can therefore be used as an index for helium content. Verification of the helium potential of Mare Tranquillitatis should be a principal objective of the next lunar missions, as recommended by a technical report by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics in 1990. Read more about the challenges of extraterrestrial mining.
