[ExI] What happens to US space programs after November?

[Giulio Prisco]

On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 12:56 PM John Clark via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
>
> On Thu, Jun 18, 2020 at 3:53 AM Giulio Prisco via extropy-chat <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
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>>> >> The only thing I can think of that you could mine on the moon that would be worth taking back to earth would be Helium-3, and even then only when Aneutronic Fusion becomes feasible.
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>> > There are promising indications that using helium-3 in fusion reactors could be the way to achieve practical nuclear fusion.
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> I hope so but even practical Deuterium/Tritium fusion power has proven to be extremely difficult to achieve, and it's easier than Aneutronic Fusion. Even if it does become a practical source of electrical power Helium-3 would face competition from an element that is far easier to obtain, Boron (20 Mule Team Borax is full of it) because Boron can also achieve Aneutronic Fusion, although it wouldn't be easy.
>

If both Helium and Boron fusion become operationally and commercially
practical before we have mining facilities on the Moon, Boron fusion
would be superior because it would permit achieving clean fusion with
supplies available in sufficient quantities on Earth.

However, Boron fusion requires higher temperatures, which means that
it may be operationally achieved decades after Helium fusion. In this
case, the cost of lunar mining could be commercially justified.