Russia Plans Mine On The Moon By 2020

MOON DAILY

by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) Jan 25, 2006
Russia is planning to mine a rare fuel on the moon by 2020 with a permanent base and a heavy-cargo transport link, a Russian space official said Wednesday.

"We are planning to build a permanent base on the moon by 2015 and by 2020 we can begin the industrial-scale delivery... of the rare isotope Helium-3," Nikolai Sevastyanov, head of the Energia space corporation, was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency as saying at an academic conference.

The International Space Station (ISS) would play a key role in the project and a regular transport relay to the moon would be established with the help of the planned Clipper spaceship and the Parom, a space capsule intended to tug heavy cargo containers around space, Sevastyanov said.

Helium-3 is a non-radioactive isotope of helium that can be used in nuclear fusion.

Rare on earth but plentiful on the moon, it is seen by some experts as an ideal fuel because it is powerful, non-polluting and generates almost no radioactive by-product.

Source: Agence France-Presse

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MOON DAILY

Jack Skis The Moon

Huntsville AL (SPX) Jan 18, 2006
Now this is a ski report: Clear skies, no wind, sweet slopes and deep powder--not expected to melt for at least five billion years. Grab your poles and pack your bags.

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