Obama tells NASA "Don't reach for the Moon"

[XMan]

Originally posted by: Jeff7

Originally posted by: XMan
Yeah, let's just forget about trying to go back to the moon.

I mean, it's not like there isn't enough Helium3 there to get us off oil, coal, natural gas, and replace nuclear fission as well.

But why helium-3? We can get deuterium from the oceans. What can helium-3 do that deuterium can't?

Umm . . . undergo fusion without radioactive byproducts?

Text

"Advocates of He3-based fusion point to the fact that current efforts to develop fusion-based power generation, like the ITER megaproject, use the deuterium-tritium fuel cycle, which is problematical. (See "International Fusion Research.") Deuterium and tritium are both hydrogen isotopes, and when they're fused in a superheated plasma, two nuclei come together to create a helium nucleus--consisting of two protons and two neutrons--and a high-energy neutron. A deuterium-tritium fusion reaction releases 80 percent of its energy in a stream of high-energy neutrons, which are highly destructive for anything they hit, including a reactor's containment vessel. Since tritium is highly radioactive, that makes containment a big problem as structures weaken and need to be replaced. Thus, whatever materials are used in a deuterium-tritium fusion power plant will have to endure serious punishment. And if that's achievable, when that fusion reactor is eventually decommissioned, there will still be a lot of radioactive waste."

 

[tvarad]

Here's an article about ISRO (India's space program) using the time-tested Soyuz spacecraft to put it's astronauts into space, just like the Chinese. I bring it up to point out that evolutionary development brings about greater dividends than disposable technology.

Now if only the idiots would figure out how to stop a bunch of terrorists from a) evading the Indian Navy b) Indian coast guard c) Indian police and hold down their targets for days thus achieving their aims despite terrorist attack after terrorist attack over the years, we can say they're onto something.