Why do China and the West participate in the race to the Moon?

Helium-3 has been causing a new great-power race to assert sovereignty over resources on the planet.

Many countries around the world are silently deploying plans to exploit Helium-3 from the Moon. Photo: Johnson Search Group Why does America want to return to the Moon after almost half a century? Why does China’s Hang Nga ship collect land on the Moon? Why Russia shook hands with China to build a Moon research station? And why has the Moon become the indispensable spot of great powers? Some say that it is to satisfy human curiosity, there are also opinions that it is to demonstrate the power of space science and technology of a nation. All is speculation, but the most important reason can be said that the Moon itself is an invaluable natural mine. As humanity is facing an energy crisis, governments around the world are looking for alternative sources of energy. High-tech companies have been exploiting non-fossil energy sources from the wind, the sun and the waves full of rivers. But that is not enough. Many countries have begun to look for new sources of energy outside the Earth. During resource exploration on the Moon, Chinese experts have discovered that there are more than 100 types of mineral resources on the Moon, not only have dozens of essential energy sources for the Earth, but also one The perfect energy source – Helium-3. Rare gas resources on the Moon. Photo: Sohu Scientists have found radioactive substances such as helium in soil on the Moon. After further analysis and determination, they found a large amount of Helium-3. Helium-3 is a valuable fuel source, because it can generate extremely high heat through fusion fusion without emitting almost no harmful radioactive neutrons. As such, fourth generation nuclear weapons using pure Helium-3 will generate little or no radioactive dust. Why does the Moon have so much Helium-3? During internal nuclear fusion, the Sun will generate a large amount of Helium-3, and Helium-3 will fall on surrounding planets after being blown by the solar wind. Because the Earth’s surface is covered by a thick atmosphere, the solar wind cannot reach the Earth’s surface, so the natural reserve of Helium-3 on Earth is very low. The Moon has almost no atmosphere, so the solar wind can directly reach the surface of the Moon, and a large amount of Helium-3 will be deposited on the surface of the Moon. The amount of Helium-3 on Earth is very small and Chinese scientists estimate that the reserve on Earth is only about 500 kg, difficult to meet the needs of mankind. The soil on the lunar surface contains at least 1 million tons of Helium-3, 2 million times more than the Earth. Experts calculated that 100 tons of Helium-3 could meet the world’s electricity generation needs in one year, and 1 million tons would be enough for 10,000 years! If Helium-3 in lunar soil could be developed and used, the construction of a nuclear power plant on the Moon could be done on the spot. But it’s not easy to separate Helium-3 from the Moon. First, it is necessary to heat the lunar soil to more than 700 degrees C to separate Helium-3. However, there is no oxygen on the Moon and is very difficult to burn. Moreover, to extract Helium-3, it must be based on the Moon, so far no country can do it. Since Helium-3 has significant energy and reserves advantages, the future Moon is more likely to become the “Persian Gulf” energy that major powers compete in the new century. In December 2020, the Chinese ship Hang Nga 5 returned safely after a mission to explore the Moon, bringing about 2kg of rock and soil from this planet to Earth. Under former President Trump, the 2020 NASA budget allocation plan shows that Washington wants to send people to the moon again before 2028. Former US Vice President Mike Pence also declared the United States to be the first power. first put a man on the moon in the 21st century. From unmanned exploration to manned landing on the Moon, and setting up lunar bases, China and the Western nations have consumed countless manpower and materials to not only satisfy scientific achievement. Behind that is endless resource ambition.