Moon
- 1. RETURN TO THE MOON? Jackson Embrey, James Fedrovski; Brent Schafer, Spencer Kelly, Maxwell Zhou A presentation by the following gentlemen:
- 2. 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
- 3. Climate Fairly simple. Temperature range: 123属 C to -233属 C Thats 253属 F down to -387属 F! Each day is 27.3 Earth days long No atmosphere, weathering, or geologic activity
- 4. 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 USSRs Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to land safely on the Moon USs 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
- 5. 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!
- 6. 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 theres no atmosphere/magnetic field
- 7. Return Investments from Space? Space missions: Helium-3 from Jupiter But not yet (at least with todays 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
- 8. 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