Seven new galaxies discovered

20 Nov, 2014 at 12:41:PM IST

In a surprising development which could provide a deeper insight into the universe, seven new galaxies have been galaxies have been discovered by the astronomers.

The Subaru Telescope in Japan was used by a team of astronomers, led by graduate student Akira Konno and Dr Masami Ouchi, to identify to search a particular type called Lyman-alpha Emitters (LAEs) which are low mass galaxies.

According to astronomers, the most massive objects in the universe are galaxy clusters as they contain hundreds to thousands of galaxies. The gravitational force keeps the galaxies together.

It is notable that Big Bang led to the creation of the universe about 13.8 billion years ago. It was the time when stars and galaxies were formed initially and later their ultraviolet light ionised which is a process called 'cosmic reionisation'.

The astronomers have searched for early LAE galaxies at a distance of 13.1 billion light years, in a bid to investigate the phenomenon of cosmic reionisation.

"At first we were very disappointed at this small number. But we realised that this indicates LAEs appeared suddenly about 13 billion years ago. This is an exciting discovery. We can see that the luminosities suddenly brightened during the 700 to 800 million years after the Big Bang. What would cause this?" Konno said.

The findings of the study are published in the Astrophysical Journal.

http://www.delhidailynews.com/news/Seven-new-galaxies-discovered-1416467462/

Two New Subatomic Particles Found Using Large Hadron Collider, Scientists Say

Discovery Helps Understanding of How Things Operate on Very Small Scale

Technicians worked on part of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in July.

Gautam Naik

Updated Nov. 19, 2014 10:14 a.m. ET

Scientists using the atom-smashing machine known as the Large Hadron Collider said Wednesday they had observed two new particles never seen before, a discovery that refines physicists’ understanding of how elementary particles interact and the forces between them.

Theoretical models had predicted the existence of the particles. Scientists used the collider to smash particles together and then sifted through the result to pinpoint the existence of the new particles and identify their mass.

“Now we know exactly what the mass is,” said Patrick Koppenburg from the Netherlands’ Nikhef Institute. Dr. Koppenburg is currently based at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, which operates the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider.

The new particles are six times as large as the proton, the positively-charged subatomic particle that is found in the nucleus of every atom.

The new particles are members of the baryon family, which also includes protons and neutrons. Baryons are made from three quarks, which are the building blocks of matter.

The observation of the baryons isn't of the same consequence as the CERN‘s 2012 discovery of the Higgs boson, which is a fundamental particle that helps explain how particles get their mass. But because it is extremely hard to model how baryons behave, the new discovery is a significant contribution to our understanding of how things operate on the scale of the very small.

“There are maybe three-to-five such particles discovered each year,” said Dr. Koppenburg. “Here we have two in one go, which is quite extraordinary.”

The measurements that pinpointed the baryons were based on data collected at the Large Hadron Collider during 2001 and 2012. It is currently shut down and is scheduled to restart by the spring and to operate at higher energies and using more intense beams than before.

http://online.wsj.com/articles/two-new-subatomic-particles-found-using-large-hadron-collider-scientists-say-1416409980

Facts about Titan

• Titan's atmosphere
• Titan's surface
• Life on Titan?

Titan, Saturn's largest moon

Titan is the largest moon of Saturn, the second largest in the Solar System (after Ganymede of Jupiter). It was discovered by Christiaan Huygens in 1655.

Titan's rotation period of about 16 days is synchronous to Saturn (meaning the same side always faces Saturn). It is the only moon in the Solar System known to have clouds and a thick, planet-like atmosphere.

Distance from Saturn
1 221 870 km

Distance from Sun
1 427 000 000 km (9.54 AU)

Diameter (atmosphere)
5550 km

Diameter (surface)
5150 km

Mass
1/45 that of Earth

Average density
1.881 times liquid water

Surface temperature
94K (-180 degrees C)

Atmospheric pressure at surface
1500 mbar (1.5 times Earth's)

Atmospheric composition
Nitrogen, methane, traces of ammonia, argon, ethane

Orbital period (Titanic day)
15.95 Earth days

Titan’s atmosphere

NASA's Voyager 1 provided the first detailed images of Titan in 1980. They showed only an opaque, orange atmosphere, apparently homogeneous.

It was so thick that you could not see the surface. However, other data revealed exciting things. Similarly to Earth, Titan's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen but there is also methane and many other organic compounds.

Before the arrival of the ESA Huygens probe, planned for January 2005, astronomers will observe Titan using the most powerful ground-based telescopes.

 

Titan's murky atmosphere with the Huygens probe descending on the left

Images from the WM Keck Observatory reveal methane-containing clouds near Titan's south pole. This could mean that Titan has the equivalent of a weather cycle similar to ours on Earth.

This is a major discovery which means that the atmosphere is much more dynamic than previously thought.

The NASA Cassini orbiter will clearly see these clouds, carrying out precise observations before, during and after releasing the Huygens probe.

First view of Titan from Cassini-Huygens

Titan’s surface

Over the years, scientists have dramatically changed their minds about Titan's surface. In the 1990s, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope spied an area on Titan that was brighter than the rest.

More recent observations show the same feature better. What are these bright and dark patches? Some scientists believe the bright area could be a continent and the rest oceans, but no one knows for sure, yet.

The recently discovered large continent-sized feature (red) is called Xanadu. It is unclear whether Xanadu is a mountain range, a giant basin, a smooth plain or a combination of all three. It may be dotted with hydrocarbon lakes but that is also unknown.

All that is presently known is that in Earth-based images, it is the brightest region on Titan. There is no doubt, though, that the surface appears very diverse, not uniform. There are a lot of surprises waiting for us there.

Where will Huygens land? ESA scientists predict the probe will land close to the bright patch, but not on it. This could be a landing in an ocean - which would be the first splashdown landing in an ocean off the Earth!

To land on an ocean would probably mean better data from Huygens. Even if the probe lasted only a few minutes before sinking, it would at least stay in an upright position. Being the right way up is essential for sending the data back to the Cassini orbiter and to the scientists on Earth.

Moreover, some of Huygens's instruments are better prepared to analyse liquids. If Huygens lands on a solid surface instead, there is a higher risk of falling in the wrong direction and not being able to easily communicate with Cassini.

Life on Titan

Will Huygens land or splashdown on Titan?

Titan, Saturn's largest moon, is a mysterious place. Its thick atmosphere is rich in organic compounds. Some of them would be signs of life if they were on our planet.

How do they form on Titan? Will they help us to discover how life began on Earth?

Titan's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen but there are also methane and many other organic compounds. Organic compounds form when sunlight destroys methane. If sunlight is continuously destroying methane, how is methane getting into the atmosphere?

On Earth today, it is life itself that refreshes the methane supply. Methane is a by-product of the metabolism of many organisms. On Earth, the simplest biological sources, such as those associated with peat bogs, rice fields and ruminant animals, continuously supply fresh gas to replace that destroyed by oxidation. Could this mean there is life on Titan?

Titan is not a pleasant place for life. It is far too cold for liquid water to exist, and all known forms of life need liquid water. Titan's surface is -180°C. According to one exotic theory, long ago, the impact of a meteorite, for example, might have provided enough heat to liquify water for perhaps a few hundred or thousand years.

However, it is unlikely that Titan is a site for life today. But scientists are still currently puzzled by the amount of methane that persists in Titan's atmosphere. Could there be oceans of methane on or under the surface?

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Facts_about_Titan

Titan: Overview

 

Saturn's moon Tethys with its prominent Odysseus Crater silently slips behind Saturn's largest moon Titan.

Titan is Saturn's largest moon. It is surrounded by a thick, golden haze, and only certain kinds of telescopes and cameras can see through the haze to the surface. Titan is of great interest to scientists because it has flowing liquids on its surface and a dense, complex atmosphere.

10 Need-To-Know Things About Titan

1. If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel and Titan would be the size of a pea.
2. Titan is a moon that orbits the planet Saturn. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun at a distance of about 1.4 billion km (886 million miles) or 9.5 AU.
3. One day on Titan (the time it takes for Titan to rotate or spin once) takes about 16 Earth days. The length of Titan's day is the same as the amount of time it takes Titan to orbit Saturn. Saturn makes a complete orbit around the sun (one Saturn year) in about 29 Earth years (10,759 Earth days).
4. Like many other moons (including Earth's moon), Titan is locked by gravity to its planet so that the same side always faces toward Saturn.
5. Titan has been called the most earthlike world in the solar system because it has lakes, seas and flowing rivers on its surface, although the liquid is methane (CH₄) and ethane (C₂H₆) instead of water.
6. Like Earth, Titan's atmosphere is mostly nitrogen (N₂). It also contains small amounts of methane and other complex hydrocarbons. Titan's atmosphere is slightly denser than Earth's.
7. Titan does not have rings. Its gravity helps to shape ringlets, gaps and other structures in Saturn's rings.
8. Titan has been visited by two spacecraft and one surface lander. Voyager 2 made the first flyby of Titan in 1980. The Cassini spacecraft has made scores of flybys of Titan since 2004. The Huygens probe, carried to Saturn by Cassini, parachuted to the surface in 2005.
9. Scientists who study living things do not think life as we know it is likely on Titan's surface. Some scientists think Titan's subsurface ocean might contain a habitable environment.
10. Seas on Titan are named for mythical sea monsters, while its mountains are named for mountains found in the works of author J.R.R. Tolkien.

Saturn's moon Tethys with its prominent Odysseus Crater silently slips behind Saturn's largest moon Titan.

Titan is the biggest of 53 confirmed moons orbiting Saturn (another 9 moons are being confirmed). Titan is a frigid world enveloped by a thick, hazy atmosphere that obscures its surface. Titan has been studied in great detail only in the past few years, with the arrival of the Cassini-Huygens mission at Saturn in 2004.

Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system, with an equatorial radius of 2,575 km (1,600 miles). It is bigger than Earth's moon, and even larger than the planet Mercury.

Only Jupiter's moon Ganymede is larger than Titan, with a diameter barely 112 km (62 miles) greater.

The temperature at Titan's surface is about -178 degrees Celsius (-289 degrees Fahrenheit). At this frigid temperature, water ice is as hard as rock - in fact, most of the rock on Titan's surface is water ice.

Titan orbits Saturn at a distance of about 1.2 million km (745,000 miles), taking almost 16 days to complete a full orbit.

Titan is of great interest to scientists because it is the only other place in the solar system known to have an earthlike cycle of liquids flowing across its surface. That Titan has seas of liquid methane was suspected before the first spacecraft flyby, but its opaque atmosphere prevented close inspection even then. In 1980, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft tried to take close up images of the natural features of Titan's landscape, but was unable to penetrate the thick clouds. Instead, the images showed only slight color and brightness variations in the atmosphere. Titan's atmospheric pressure is about 60 percent greater than Earth's -- roughly the same pressure found at the bottom of a swimming pool.

In 1994, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recorded pictures of Titan, which suggested that a huge bright continent exists on the hemisphere that faces forward in orbit. These Hubble results didn't prove that liquid seas existed, however; only that Titan has large bright and dark regions on its surface.

NASA's Cassini spacecraft (currently orbiting Saturn) has finally revealed the mysterious moon's true nature. Cassini was specially designed to peer through Titan's haze with radar and in certain colors of light, called spectral windows, that allow a glimpse of what lies below. During dozens of flybys, the Cassini orbiter has mapped a large fraction of Titan's surface and made detailed studies of its atmosphere. Cassini also carried the European-built Huygens probe, which parachuted through Titan's atmosphere in 2005 to make the first landing on a body in the outer solar system.

From Cassini-Huygens, we now know that Titan has lakes and seas of liquid methane (natural gas) and ethane near its poles. These bodies of standing liquids appear to grow and shrink in a seasonal cycle as storms bring rain to one hemisphere, then the other. The mission has revealed drainage channels on the surface that were carved by flowing liquid.

Cassini's radar instrument revealed that large swaths of the surface near the equator are blanketed by dune fields, similar to the Namibian desert on Earth. The mission has also found that Titan has an internal ocean of liquid water.

Because of the extremely cold temperatures at Titan's distance from the sun, chemical processes take longer to unfold, leaving the chemistry of the moon's atmosphere in a state of deep freeze. This carbon-rich chemistry is of great interest to scientists because it could be similar to the atmosphere of early Earth, before life emerged on our planet.

Discovery:
Titan was discovered on 25 March 1655 by the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens.

How Titan Got its Name:
The name Titan comes from a generic term for the children of Ouranos (Uranus) and Gaia in ancient Greek mythology. In the stories, the Titans were the ancestors of the human race. The Titans were known to have devoured the limbs of Dionysus, the son of Zeus. Enraged, Zeus struck the Titans with lightning. (Zeus had intended this child to have dominion over the world.) The lightning burned the Titans to ashes, and from the ashes, mankind was formed.

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sat_Titan

Europa: Could Have the Ingredients Needed for Life

Europa might be the best place to look for environments where life could exist in the present day. Image credit: NASA/JPL/Ted Stryk

Four hundred years ago, the astronomer Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four large moons forever changed humanity's view of the universe, helping to bring about the understanding that Earth was not the center of all motion. Today one of these Galilean moons could again revolutionize science and our sense of place, for hidden beneath Europa's icy surface is perhaps the most promising place to look for present-day environments that are suitable for life.

This new appreciation began to unfold in 1995, when a spacecraft named in Galileo's honor arrived in the Jupiter system to follow up on earlier discoveries by the Voyager mission. The Galileo spacecraft sent tantalizing samplings of data that provided strong evidence for a deep global ocean beneath Europa's icy crust, leading to speculation on the potential for life within icy moons.

• More about how the evidence for an ocean was assembled >

Meanwhile, over the last quarter century we have learned that Jupiter-like planets are common around other stars, and that many could have icy moons like Europa. This realization means that studying Europa will help us understand the habitability of icy worlds throughout the cosmos.

What Makes Europa Special

Cutaway diagram of Europa's interior. Artwork credit: Michael Carroll

As Europa orbits Jupiter it experiences strong tidal forces - somewhat like the tides in Earth's oceans caused by our Moon. The tidal forces cause Europa to flex and stretch because its orbit is an ellipse, rather than a circle, and the tide is much higher when the moon is close to Jupiter than when it is farther away. This continuous flexing creates heat, which makes Europa's interior warmer than it would be from the Sun's heat alone. In addition, the flexing could produce volcanic activity from the rocky interior, as on the neighboring moon Io. The tidal forces also cause Europa's icy outer shell to flex, likely causing the long, linear cracks seen in images of its surface.

• Watch a movie showing how Europa is squeezed and stretched >

Thanks in large part to measurements made by visiting spacecraft, scientists think it is probable that Europa has a saltwater ocean beneath a relatively thin and geologically active icy shell. Although evidence exists for oceans within several other large icy satellites in the outer solar system, Europa is unique because its ocean is believed to be in direct contact with its rocky interior, where conditions could be similar to those on Earth's biologically rich sea floor. (In contrast, Jupiter's other large, icy moons, Ganymede and Callisto, are thought to contain "ocean sandwiches," where a liquid ocean exists between two layers of ice.) Our planet has geologically active places on its sea floor, called hydrothermal zones, where water and rock interact at high temperatures. These zones are known to be rich with life, powered by energy and nutrients that result from reactions between the seawater and the warm, rocky ocean floor.

The Stuff of Life

Life as we know it depends upon three key "ingredients":

• Liquid water, to create an environment that facilitates chemical reactions

• Essential chemical elements that are critical for biological processes

• A source of energy that could be utilized by living things

Europa appears to meet these minimum requirements for life. It is special among the bodies of our solar system in having a potentially enormous volume of liquid water, along with geological activity that could promote the exchange of useful chemicals from the surface with the watery environment beneath the ice. However, our current understanding of how material moves within Europa's icy crust is not well-developed. Even the existence of a subsurface ocean, while strongly suspected, is not yet proven.

Continue to the first essential ingredient for life: Water >

 

Artist's concept of Europa's frozen surface. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Water

Flexing of Europa's icy crust could create partially melted pockets, or even lakes, scattered throughout the moon's outer shell. Image credit: Britney Schmidt/Dead Pixel VFX/Univ. of Texas at Austin. (Press release related to lakes on Europa.)

 

Water is essential to life, serving as a perfect liquid medium for dissolving nutrients for ingestion or wastes for excretion, and for transporting chemicals living things can use. Several lines of evidence strongly suggest that the planet-sized moon contains an ocean of liquid water many tens of miles deep. If it does exist, the ocean lies beneath an ice shell that is at least a few miles thick, and perhaps tens of miles thick. At the ocean bottom lies a rocky seafloor in direct contact with the water, possibly supplying chemical nutrients into the ocean by hydrothermal activity.

Important clues to the presence of an ocean within Europa:

• Observations by NASA's Galileo spacecraft confirmed that Europa's surface is sparsely cratered and therefore young. (Heavily cratered surfaces are older.)

• Models for the formation of the many linear ridges and fractures on Europa's surface suggest that the moon's icy shell is relatively thin and flexes in response to tidal forces as the moon orbits Jupiter.

• Flexing of the icy crust above an ocean could create pockets of salty impurities and partially melted areas leading to features seen in spacecraft images.

Favorable environments for the chemistry of life (or even life itself, in microbial form) could exist in areas within Europa's ice shell that contain salty fluids or around possible hydrothermal systems driven by tidal heating. An ocean rich with chemistry conducive to life could be maintained by a cycle that moves water through the moon's ice shell, ocean and rocky interior.

Continue to the next essential ingredient for life: Chemistry >

Chemistry

Mineral-laden hot water pours like black smoke from a hydrothermal vent on Earth's ocean floor. Image credit: A.L. Lane/NASA/JPL

Chemistry

Studying Europa's chemistry - on the surface and within the suspected ocean - is important for understanding its habitability because living things extract energy from their environments via chemical reactions. Interactions between materials from Europa's surface and those in an ocean environment beneath the ice could produce elements essential for life such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorous and sulfur.

Europa's surface is mostly water ice (H₂O), but the surface is bombarded by intense radiation from Jupiter, which can alter the chemistry of the ice. Through this process, the hydrogen and oxygen from water ice can combine with other materials on the surface to create a host of molecules like free oxygen (O₂), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), carbon dioxide (CO₂) and sulfur dioxide (SO₂).

If these compounds are finding their way into an ocean as part of an ongoing cycle, they could be used to power the reactions living things depend upon. Meanwhile, cycling of ocean water through minerals in the seafloor could replenish the water with other chemicals that are crucial for life.

Continue to the last essential ingredient for life: Energy >

Energy

How material cycles between the ice, the ocean and the rocky interior is the greatest uncertainty about energy as it relates to Europa's habitability. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Energy

Life extracts energy from its environment in order to carry out biological processes like maintaining cellular structures, growing and reproducing. Most living things on Earth's surface depend (directly or indirectly) on energy supplied by the sun, but there are many organisms that extract their energy from chemical sources like those produced by hydrothermal activity.

Europa's constant tidal flexing provides heat energy to drive chemical reactions in the rocky interior, recycling the elements and making them available for potential use by living things. If Europa's seafloor has volcanoes (as its sibling moon Io does) or hydrothermal vents, they may drive the chemistry of the ocean and play an important role in cycling nutrient-rich water between the ocean and the rocky interior. Tidal flexing of the ice shell could create slightly warmer pockets of ice that rise slowly upward to the surface, carrying material from the ocean below. Jupiter's intense radiation also provides a source of energy by ripping apart chemicals on the surface, where they can recombine to form new compounds.

The greatest uncertainty about energy as it relates to Europa's habitability is in how material cycles between the ice, the ocean and the rocky mantle on the ocean bottom. There are, potentially, sources of chemical energy for life being created on the surface and in the rocky interior, but their availability for use by living organisms depends on how well Europa's different layers are able to exchange material. In essence, the more energetic Europa is, the more energy would be available for life. Determining the balance of all these forces - Europa's energy balance - is a major hurdle toward understanding the icy moon's habitability.

What is the evidence for an ocean within Europa? >

Evidence for an Ocean

What Makes Us Think There is an Ocean Beneath Europa's Icy Crust?

Europa and her three large sibling satellites - Io, Ganymede and Callisto - were discovered by the astronomer Galileo in 1610, but nearly 400 years passed before any detailed views of their surfaces were seen and the uniqueness of these "Galilean" moons was revealed. In the 1960s, ground-based telescope observations determined that Europa's surface composition is mostly water ice, as are most other solid bodies of the outer solar system.

A view of Europa from the Voyager 2 spacecraft

The Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft flew by Jupiter in the early 1970s, but the first spacecraft to image the surfaces of Jupiter's moons in significant detail were the Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft. Voyager 1's closest approach to Jupiter occurred in March 1979, with Voyager 2 following in July of the same year. The best imaging resolution of the Voyagers was limited to just over 1 mile (2 kilometers) per pixel. These images revealed a surface brighter than that of Earth's moon, crisscrossed with numerous bands and ridges, and with a surprising lack of large impact craters, tall cliffs or mountains (in other words, a very smooth surface, relative to the other icy moons).
Even though the Voyagers did not pass extremely close to Europa, their images were of high enough quality that researchers noted some of the dark bands had opposite sides that matched each other extremely well, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. These cracks had separated, and dark, icy material appeared to have flowed into the opened gaps, suggesting that the surface had been active at some time in the past. Voyager images showed only a handful of impact craters, which are expected to build up over time as a planetary surface is constantly bombarded by meteorites over billions of years until the surface is covered in craters. Thus, a lack of large impact craters suggested that the moon's surface was relatively young and implied that something had erased them - such as icy, volcanic flows, or settling of the icy crust under its own weight.

Scientists also found that the patterns of some of the longest linear features on the surface did not fit predicted patterns of fractures that should be created by tides as Europa orbits Jupiter. They determined that the patterns would fit very well if Europa's surface could move independently and was not locked to the rest of the interior, as would be the case if a layer of liquid or slightly warmer ice existed between the crust and deep interior.

NASA's Galileo spacecraft detected a magnetic field around Europa, in addition to fields around Ganymede and Callisto.

There also were tantalizing hints that perhaps Europa had a warm interior at some time in the past, and perhaps still does. Studies of how tidal heating should affect Europa suggested that a global subsurface ocean might exist within the icy moon today.
These intriguing findings led to a strong sense of anticipation for the Galileo mission, which launched in 1989 and entered orbit around Jupiter in 1995. Galileo's primary mission included observations of each the four Galilean satellites during repeated flybys. The information about Europa that Galileo sent was so intriguing that the mission was extended to make a total of 12 close flybys of the icy moon. Data from the mission included images of Europa at a range of scales, revealing new details about the surface and providing context for how those details related to the moon as a whole.

One of Galileo's most important measurements showed how Jupiter's magnetic field was disrupted in the space around Europa. This measurement strongly implied that a special type of magnetic field is being created (or induced) within Europa by a deep layer of some electrically conductive fluid beneath the surface. Based on Europa's icy composition, scientists think the most likely material to create this magnetic signature is a global ocean of salty water. A future mission to Europa could confirm the ocean's existence and begin to address questions about the moon's habitability for life as we know it.

NASA is studying mission designs that would tackle the most pressing questions about Europa. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) being planned by the European Space Agency (ESA) will address some of these questions, and conduct detailed investigations of Europa's sister moon, Ganymede. Visit ESA's JUICE mission website >

http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/europa/overview.cfm

Mining The Moon

 

An Apollo astronaut argues that with its vast stores of nonpolluting nuclear fuel, our lunar neighbor holds the key to Earth's future. However, before we mine it, we'll need to determine who owns the moon?

December 7, 2004 12:00 AM

A sample of soil from the rim of Camelot crater slid from my scoop into a Teflon bag to begin its trip to Earth with the crew of Apollo 17. Little did I know at the time, on Dec. 13, 1972, that sample 75501, along with samples from Apollo 11 and other missions, would provide the best reason to return to the moon in the 21st century. That realization would come 13 years later. In 1985, young engineers at the University of Wisconsin discovered that lunar soil contained significant quantities of a remarkable form of helium. Known as helium-3, it is a lightweight isotope of the familiar gas that fills birthday balloons.

Small quantities of helium-3 previously discovered on Earth intrigued the scientific community. The unique atomic structure of helium-3 promised to make it possible to use it as fuel for nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun, to generate vast amounts of electrical power without creating the troublesome radioactive byproducts produced in conventional nuclear reactors. Extracting helium-3 from the moon and returning it to Earth would, of course, be difficult, but the potential rewards would be staggering for those who embarked upon this venture. Helium-3 could help free the United States--and the world--from dependence on fossil fuels.

That vision seemed impossibly distant during the decades in which manned space exploration languished. Yes, Americans and others made repeated trips into Earth orbit, but humanity seemed content to send only robots into the vastness beyond. That changed on Jan. 14, 2004, when President George W. Bush challenged NASA to "explore space and extend a human presence across our solar system."

It was an electrifying call to action for those of us who share the vision of Americans leading humankind into deep space, continuing the ultimate migration that began 42 years ago when President John F. Kennedy first challenged NASA to land on the moon. We can do so again. If Bush's initiative is sustained by Congress and future presidents, American leadership can take us back to the moon, then to Mars and, ultimately, beyond.
Although the president's announcement did not mention it explicitly, his message implied an important role for the private sector in leading human expansion into deep space. In the past, this type of public-private cooperation produced enormous dividends.

Recognizing the distinctly American entrepreneurial spirit that drives pioneers, the President's Commission on Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy subsequently recommended that NASA encourage private space-related initiatives. I believe in going a step further. I believe that if government efforts lag, private enterprise should take the lead in settling space. We need look only to our past to see how well this could work. In 1862, the federal government supported the building of the transcontinental railroad with land grants. By the end of the 19th century, the private sector came to dominate the infrastructure, introducing improvements in rail transport that laid the foundation for industrial development in the 20th century. In a similar fashion, a cooperative effort in learning how to mine the moon for helium-3 will create the technological infrastructure for our inevitable journeys to Mars and beyond.

The Basics of Limitless Power: Albert Einstein's famous E=MC2 equation reflects the enormous energy that can be released by fusing atoms. Hydrogen atoms fusing together to create helium powers the sun.

1. FIRST GENERATION: Scientists have duplicated solar fusion on Earth by using two "heavy" hydrogen atoms--deuterium and tritium--which fuse at lower temperatures than ordinary hydrogen. A first-generation deuterium-tritium fusion reactor operated experimentally for 15 years at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey.
2. SECOND GENERATION: While useful for studying fusion, reactors operating with deuterium-tritium fuel are impractical for commercial use. Among other things, the reaction produces large amounts of radiation in the form of neutrons. Substituting helium-3 for tritium significantly reduces neutron production, making it safe to locate fusion plants nearer to where power is needed the most, large cities. This summer, researchers at the University of Wisconsin Fusion Technology Institute in Madison reported having successfully initiated and maintained a fusion reaction using deuterium and helium-3 fuel.
3. THIRD GENERATION: First-generation fusion reactors were never intended to produce power. And, even if they are perfected, they would still produce electricity in much the same way as it is created today. That is, the reactors would function as heat sources. Steam would then be used to spin a massive generator, just as in a coal- or oil-fired plant. Perhaps the most promising idea is to fuel a third-generation reactor solely with helium-3, which can directly yield an electric current--no generator required. As much as 70 percent of the energy in the fuels could be captured and put directly to work.--Stefano Coledan

A Reason To Return

Throughout history, the search for precious resources--from food to minerals to energy--inspired humanity to explore and settle ever-more-remote regions of our planet. I believe that helium-3 could be the resource that makes the settlement of our moon both feasible and desirable.

Although quantities sufficient for research exist, no commercial supplies of helium-3 are present on Earth. If they were, we probably would be using them to produce electricity today. The more we learn about building fusion reactors, the more desirable a helium-3-fueled reactor becomes.

Researchers have tried several approaches to harnessing the awesome power of hydrogen fusion to generate electricity. The stumbling block is finding a way to achieve the temperatures required to maintain a fusion reaction. All materials known to exist melt at these surface-of-the-sun temperatures. For this reason, the reaction can take place only within a magnetic containment field, a sort of electromagnetic Thermos bottle.
Initially, scientists believed they could achieve fusion using deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen found in seawater. They soon discovered that sustaining the temperatures and pressures needed to maintain the so-called deuterium-deuterium fusion reaction for days on end exceeded the limits of the magnetic containment technology. Substituting helium-3 for tritium allows the use of electrostatic confinement, rather than needing magnets, and greatly reduces the complexity of fusion reactors as well as eliminates the production of high-level radioactive waste. These differences will make fusion a practical energy option for the first time.

It is not a lack of engineering skill that prevents us from using helium-3 to meet our energy needs, but a lack of the isotope itself. Vast quantities of helium originate in the sun, a small part of which is helium-3, rather than the more common helium-4. Both types of helium are transformed as they travel toward Earth as part of the solar wind. The precious isotope never arrives because Earth's magnetic field pushes it away. Fortunately, the conditions that make helium-3 rare on Earth are absent on the moon, where it has accumulated on the surface and been mixed with the debris layer of dust and rock, or regolith, by constant meteor strikes. And there it waits for the taking.
An aggressive program to mine helium-3 from the surface of the moon would not only represent an economically practical justification for permanent human settlements; it could yield enormous benefits back on Earth.

Budget cuts, a public bored with space and fear of losing a crew--Apollo 13 was still a vivid memory--turned Apollo 17 into the last moon mission of the 20th century. NASA decided to get the most scientific data possible from its last lunar excursion and made a crew change: Harrison H. Schmitt became the first and only fully trained geologist to explore the moon. Schmitt was a natural choice. With a doctorate from Harvard University, he was already on the staff of the U.S. Geological Survey's astrogeology branch in Flagstaff, Ariz. His job included training astronauts during simulated lunar field trips. There was only one hole in his résumé. Schmitt had never learned to fly. In 18 months he earned his wings, and became a jet plane and lunar landing module pilot. On Dec. 11, 1972, he and Eugene Cernan landed in the moon's Taurus-Littrow Valley. On the first of three moonwalks, Schmitt's scientific knowledge became evident. So did his enthusiasm. His periodic falls stopped hearts at Mission Control, which feared he would rip his spacesuit and die instantly. Four years after returning with 244 pounds of moon rocks, Schmitt was elected U.S. senator from New Mexico. Now chairman of Albuquerque-based Interlune-Intermars Initiative, he is a leading advocate for commercializing the moon.--S.C.

Lunar Mining

Samples collected in 1969 by Neil Armstrong during the first lunar landing showed that helium-3 concentrations in lunar soil are at least 13 parts per billion (ppb) by weight. Levels may range from 20 to 30 ppb in undisturbed soils. Quantities as small as 20 ppb may seem too trivial to consider. But at a projected value of $40,000 per ounce, 220 pounds of helium-3 would be worth about $141 million.

Because the concentration of helium-3 is extremely low, it would be necessary to process large amounts of rock and soil to isolate the material. Digging a patch of lunar surface roughly three-quarters of a square mile to a depth of about 9 ft. should yield about 220 pounds of helium-3--enough to power a city the size of Dallas or Detroit for a year.
Although considerable lunar soil would have to be processed, the mining costs would not be high by terrestrial standards. Automated machines might perform the work. Extracting the isotope would not be particularly difficult. Heating and agitation release gases trapped in the soil. As the vapors are cooled to absolute zero, the various gases present sequentially separate out of the mix. In the final step, special membranes would separate helium-3 from ordinary helium.

The total estimated cost for fusion development, rocket development and starting lunar operations would be about $15 billion. The International Thermonuclear Reactor Project, with a current estimated cost of $10 billion for a proof-of-concept reactor, is just a small part of the necessary development of tritium-based fusion and does not include the problems of commercialization and waste disposal.

The second-generation approach to controlled fusion power involves combining deuterium and helium-3. This reaction produces a high-energy proton (positively charged hydrogen ion) and a helium-4 ion (alpha particle). The most important potential advantage of this fusion reaction for power production as well as other applications lies in its compatibility with the use of electrostatic fields to control fuel ions and the fusion protons. Protons, as positively charged particles, can be converted directly into electricity, through use of solid-state conversion materials as well as other techniques. Potential conversion efficiencies of 70 percent may be possible, as there is no need to convert proton energy to heat in order to drive turbine-powered generators. Fusion power plants operating on deuterium and helium-3 would offer lower capital and operating costs than their competitors due to less technical complexity, higher conversion efficiency, smaller size, the absence of radioactive fuel, no air or water pollution, and only low-level radioactive waste disposal requirements. Recent estimates suggest that about $6 billion in investment capital will be required to develop and construct the first helium-3 fusion power plant. Financial breakeven at today's wholesale electricity prices (5 cents per kilowatt-hour) would occur after five 1000-megawatt plants were on line, replacing old conventional plants or meeting new demand.

New Spacecraft

Perhaps the most daunting challenge to mining the moon is designing the spacecraft to carry the hardware and crew to the lunar surface. The Apollo Saturn V spacecraft remains the benchmark for a reliable, heavy-lift moon rocket. Capable of lifting 50 tons to the moon, Saturn V's remain the largest spacecraft ever used. In the 40 years since the spacecraft's development, vast improvements in spacecraft technology have occurred. For an investment of about $5 billion it should be possible to develop a modernized Saturn capable of delivering 100-ton payloads to the lunar surface for less than $1500 per pound.

Returning to the moon would be a worthwhile pursuit even if obtaining helium-3 were the only goal. But over time the pioneering venture would pay more valuable dividends. Settlements established for helium-3 mining would branch out into other activities that support space exploration. Even with the next generation of Saturns, it will not be economical to lift the massive quantities of oxygen, water and structural materials needed to create permanent human settlements in space. We must acquire the technical skills to extract these vital materials from locally available resources. Mining the moon for helium-3 would offer a unique opportunity to acquire those resources as byproducts. Other opportunities might be possible through the sale of low-cost access to space. These additional, launch-related businesses will include providing services for government-funded lunar and planetary exploration, astronomical observatories, national defense, and long-term, on-call protection from the impacts of asteroids and comets. Space and lunar tourism also will be enabled by the existence of low-cost, highly reliable rockets.

With such tremendous business potential, the entrepreneurial private sector should support a return to the moon, this time to stay. For an investment of less than $15 billion--about the same as was required for the 1970s Trans Alaska Pipeline--private enterprise could make permanent habitation on the moon the next chapter in human history.

Living Off The Land
Exploration of the solar system will be fueled by materials found scattered across asteroids, moons and planets.

Moon

The discovery of a helium isotope, helium-3, on the moon has given scientists ideas on how to produce electricity far more efficiently than with hydrocarbons or current nuclear plants. The large amounts of energy would come without danger of releasing radioactive substances into the atmosphere.

Mining the lunar surface would not be cheap; the investment would be comparable to building a major transcontinental pipeline.

Mars

Studies conducted by NASA and others have determined that water, rocket propellant and chemicals needed to sustain a human outpost could be manufactured from martian soil and ice caps (right). Future astronauts might set up production plants that expand as others arrive. Eventually, the Mars base could become a resupply base.

Asteroids

Scientists believe these leftovers of the solar system's formation, floating between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars, may contain rare elements and water. Mining these rocks, some as big as mountains, will be neither easy nor cheap. Using technologies previously developed to extract precious materials from the moon or Mars could make asteroids an attractive target, especially for a permanent human colony on the red planet. Astronauts would first practice rendezvous with asteroids. Then, after studying them, crews would return with mining equipment. Excavated ore could be trucked to a martian outpost.

Titan

As early as next year, we may learn whether Saturn's largest moon, Titan, preserves organic molecules similar to those believed to exist on primeval Earth. The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft is designed to determine whether the atmosphere of Titan indeed contains ammonia and hydrocarbons such as ethane and methane. All these chemicals contain a common element: hydrogen. Extracting this gas in a minus 400°F environment could be easier than on Earth since it would be already liquefied and ready to be used as the most powerful chemical rocket fuel. With organic chemicals as ingredients, a limitless array of synthetic materials could be manufactured.

Space Sails

Earthlings first learned about the existence of the solar wind 35 years ago when Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin deployed a silver-colored sheet on the moon. Scientists wanted to intercept particles coming from the sun.

Taking advantage of this natural source of energy made perfect sense to some within the space community. A lightweight sail (above) could be folded and launched into space. Once in the vacuum of space, the frame attached to a spacecraft would deploy and the square-mile sail could push a spacecraft through interplanetary space faster than conventional propulsion systems, and reach the outer planets in one-fourth the time spacecraft currently take.--S.C.

• “Big Splat” Update: Harrison Schmitt ’s Skeptical Take on the 2-Moon Hypothesis
• Forty Years Later, Apollo Astronauts Look Back on the Lunar Rover
• Giant Leaps: Apollo 11 Alums Reflect 40 Years Later at MIT Conference
• Exploring the Moon : Apollo 11, The Untold Story
• The Lunar Base: How to Settle the Moon (and Pay for Sleepovers)
• Further Reading: Apollo 11 in Books for Adults and Children

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http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/space/moon-mars/1283056

Could the moon fuel Earth for 10,000 years? China says mining helium from our satellite may help solve the world's energy crisis

 

• Helium 3 in dumped on moon's surface in vast quantities by solar winds
• The rare helium isotope could power clean fusion plants back on Earth
• It could be extracted from the moon by heating the lunar dust to 600°C
• Astronauts would then shuttle the nonradioactive material back to Earth
• While China has expressed an interest, it has yet to outline concrete plans about how it would mine the moon for helium

By Ellie Zolfagharifard

Published: 09:51 GMT, 5 August 2014 | Updated: 15:44 GMT, 5 August 2014

The lunar dirt brought back by mankind's first moonwalkers contained an abundance of titanium, platinum and other valuable minerals.

But our satellite also contains a substance that could be of even greater use to civilisation – one that could revolutionise energy production.

It's called helium 3 and has been dumped on the moon in vast quantities by solar winds.

Helium 3, scientists argue, could power clean fusion plants. Two fully-loaded Space Shuttle cargo bay's worth - about 40 tonnes worth - could power the United States for a year at the current rate of energy consumption. Pictured are the stages in getting the material back to Earth

Now China is looking to mine the moon for the rare helium isotope that some scientists claim could meet global energy demand far into the future, according to a report in The Times.

Professor Ouyang Ziyuan, the chief scientist of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, recently said, the moon is 'so rich' in helium 3, that this could 'solve humanity's energy demand for around 10,000 years at least.'

 

Helium 3, scientists argue, could power clean fusion plants. It is nonradioactive and a very little goes a very long way.

For instance, two fully-loaded Space Shuttle cargo bay’s worth - about 40 tonnes worth - could power the United States for a year at the current rate of energy consumption.

Helium 3 is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. It is abundant in the moon's soil after being dumped there by solar winds. Two fully-loaded Space Shuttle cargo bay’s worth - about 40 tonnes worth - could power the United States for a year at the current rate of energy consumption

An artist's impression of what mining in space.  In this image hot gases are seen flowing through chambers

WHAT IS HELIUM 3?

Helium 3 (He-3) is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron. 

Its presence is rare on Earth, but it is sought after for use in nuclear fusion research. It is also used in MRI scanners and in sensors to detect smuggled plutonium.

Helium 3 is abundant in the moon's soil by at least 13 parts per billion (ppb) by weight.

The gas, he estimates, has a potential economic value of $3 billion (£1.78 billion) a tonne, making it economically viable to consider mining from the moon.

According to experts in the U.S., the total estimated cost for fusion development, rocket development and starting lunar operations would be about $20 billion (£11.8 billion) over two decades.

Two fully-loaded Space Shuttle cargo bay’s worth - about 40 tonnes worth - could power the United States for a year at the current rate of energy consumption. 

This would require mining an areas the size of Washington, D.C.

This would require mining an areas the size of Washington, D.C.

The isotope is so rare on the Earth because our atmosphere and magnetic field prevent any of the solar helium 3 from arriving on the surface.

The moon doesn't have this problem as there is nothing to prevent helium 3 being absorbed by the lunar soil.

Fabrizio Bozzato, a doctoral candidate at the University of Tamkan in Taiwan, recently wrote in World Security Network that helium 3 could be extracted by heating the lunar dust to around 600°C, before bringing it back to the Earth.

The gas, he estimates, has a potential economic value of $3 billion (£1.78 billion) a tonne, making it economically viable to consider mining from the moon.

According to experts in the U.S., the total estimated cost for fusion development, rocket development and starting lunar operations would be about $20 billion (£11.8 billion) over two decades.

While China has expressed an interest, it has yet to outline concrete plans about how it would mine the moon for helium.  

The prospect, however, raises the controversial issue about who owns our satellite.

The United Nations Outer Space Treaty, signed by China, suggests that lunar resources are for all mankind.

China is hoping to mine helium 3 from the moon. The scenarios sounds like science fiction, and has been depicted in Hollywood through films such as the 1998 blockbuster Armageddon starring Bruce Willis

Private groups are also interested in using fuel from the moon by mining water rather than helium

However, legal experts claim the language is ambiguous enough to allow for commercial exploitation of the moon.

In a recent paper, Mr Bozzato said: 'China appears determined to make [lunar mining] a reality of tomorrow.

'China maintains its lunar mining would be for the benefit of all humanity,' he added.

'However, given the absence of willful competitors, it is also speculated that the Chinese intend to establish a helium 3 monopoly.'

Private enterprise is also interested in using fuel from the moon – although possibly by extracting water rather than helium 3. 

The Shackleton Energy company envisages providing propellant for missions throughout the solar system using lunar water. 

Some teams vying for the Google Lunar X-Prize also see mining as an ultimate goal of their landers. ESA has also considered using the Moon to help missions farther into the Solar System.

Arguments have also been made for mining Helium-3 from Jupiter, where it is much more abundant – it would need to be given the distances involved. 

Extracting the molecule from Jupiter would also be a less power-hungry process.

Read more:

• China sets sights on mission to mine the Moon | The Times
• Moon Power: China's Lunar Helium 3 Vision

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2716417/Could-moon-fuel-Earth-10-000-years-China-says-mining-helium-satellite-help-solve-worlds-energy-crisis.html#ixzz3JRTCqLYD
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