Moon-Based Ground Penetrating Radar Derivation of the Helium-3 Reservoir in the Regolith at the Chang'E-3 Landing Site

Abstract

The Moon-based ground penetrating radar (GPR) carried by the Yutu rover performed in-situ radar measurements to explore extraterrestrial objects, which provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the shallow subsurface structure of the Moon and its internal resources. Exploiting lunar resources might be one of the solutions to the Earth's energy shortage in the future. In this article, first, the thickness distribution of the lunar regolith at the Chang'E-3 landing site is derived using the high-frequency Yutu radar observation data. Second, the surface concentration of helium-3 is determined based on the surface TiO$_{2}$ content of the lunar regolith. Finally, the reservoir of helium-3 resources in the lunar regolith is estimated. Our result suggests that the helium-3 reservoir along the Yutu rover traveling route from the navigation points N105 to N208 ($\sim$445 m$^{2}$) is $\sim$37–51 g, and its helium-3 content per unit area is $\sim$0.083–0.114 g/m${^{2}}$, which is at least five times higher than that of the global average. Currently, the nuclear fusion experiment is facing a severe shortage of tritium fuel. We discuss the possibility of replacing it with lunar helium-3 as the fuel for nuclear fusion. Meanwhile, we also suggest that the Chang'E-3 landing area can be a potential site selection for the exploitation of the lunar helium-3 in the future. Our results will provide a valuable reference to evaluate the economics and feasibility of mining in-situ helium-3 resources on the Moon.

Keywords

• Chang'E-3 mission
• Helium-3
• lunar regolith
• Moon-based ground penetrating radar (GPR)