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Project Icarus: the Gas Mines of Uranus

Posted by samzenpus on from the cue-the-obvious-jokes dept.

astroengine writes "When considering the fuel source for a fusion-powered interstellar probe, wouldn't it be a good idea to set up a colony on the moon and start pillaging the lunar surface for its helium-3 riches? Not so fast, says Adam Crowl of Project Icarus, there may be a far more viable source. What about the gas giants? Although Jupiter's gravity could pose a problem and Saturn's rings might get in the way (and forget Neptune, that place is one hell of a commute), perhaps the helium-3 in the Uranian atmosphere could be mined using atmospheric balloons?"

2 of 155 comments (clear)

  1. Skip ahead to here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    This is not a joke post.

  2. Re:Cheaper to make 3He on Earth? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Lots of tritium is already produced in heavy water reactors, like CANDU. Most of it was just released, but I think they are getting smarter and are storing it now.

    This is considering He-3 is in huge demand right for cryogenic research.

    Anyway, He-3 fusion is much further away than H2+H3 fusion simply because of massively higher energy levels for confinement.. He-3 fusion could only be researched if we are unable to find a solution for the high neutron flux in H2+H3.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITER#Reactor_overview