A Space Race with China that We can’t Afford to Lose.
China Spacecraft Enters Orbit around the Moon
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-spacecraft-enters-orbit-around-the-moon/
In my series SIMPOC and Virus (to be released in Feb 2015) I describe a future where China is aggressive in mining H-3 from the moon. H-3 is the only substance, which is a non-radioactive fuel source for nuclear fusion. It will likely become the ‘fossil fuel’ of the future. As we run out of fossil fuels and finally get nuclear fusion working H-3 will be the most valuable substance in existence.
H-3 is rare on Earth yet it is abundant in the moon’s regolith (moon soil). It is abundant because of the constant matter shower, which falls from space and has accumulated over the life of the moon.
I can recognize the warning signs. The U.S. will continue to squander its space lead and ignore our future needs until another country puts something together and we have to over react to catch up. It is our typical ‘don’t spend money on the future’ method of funding.
The payback over time from our moon program paid for itself many times over and we can’t afford to continue to allow our technology to deteriorate. The excitement of exploration and stretch goals is what gets young students into science programs.
I have substituted taught in middle school and high school and the lack of common sense science skills is scary. Let’s hope that we’ll finally get our own space launch capability going soon. Yea for private investment, because it is likely the only way we’ll get back into space without having to buy a ride from someone else.
Ray Jay Perreault
