Japan moves in on hidden $4trillion energy source on the Moon as space race against US and China escalates
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THE future lunar mining industry will be a trillion-dollar business - and Japan wants a slice of the big cheese. The Moon is believed to have between one and three million tons of a rare gas known as Helium-3 - enough to power Earth for the next 10,000 years.
![[The lunar south pole, scientists believe, is one of the Moon's most resource-dense areas]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/360-degrees-died-end-first-552593149.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Japanese lunar exploration company ispace has partnered with lunar extraction firm Magna Petra to harvest Helium-3 on the Moon and deliver it back to Earth. “The cislunar economy will be dependent on many important resources other than water," Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace, said in a statement. "And it is important to work to make use of these resources.".
![[The precious gas is in short supply on Earth, accounting for about 0.0001% of helium on the planet]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/visibleearth-nasa-gov-images-144875-949457382_2d3e2c.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The precious gas is in short supply on Earth, accounting for about 0.0001% of helium on the planet. It is thought to be hidden in 'cold traps' on the Moon's outer layers of regolith making it relatively easy to extract. Helium-3 can be used in nuclear fusion - a near limitless energy source - without releasing any of the dangerous radioactive waste.
Just one gram of Helium-3 would cost about $1,400, according to the Lunar and Planetary Institute, a research organisation founded in 1978. That means one ton would be worth around $1.26billion - and three million tons would be worth $3.78trillion. In a joint statement, ispace and Magna Petra said they would harvest the material in a "non-destructive, sustainable" way.
However, researchers have voiced concern over a lunar landgrab, as the US and China also turn their attention to precious materials. “We are at risk of a Wild West scenario due to the rivalries between competing space agencies and commercial interests,” Joseph Silk, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University and the Paris Institute of Astrophysics, told Space.com earlier this year.
