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Moon Race ReduxMany nations are committing fortunes to reach the moon! You may be surprised to learn which countries are in the race--and even more surprised by what they seek. Scientists are calling it the perfect fuel, saying it will change the world as we know it.by Cecil E. MaranvilleKing David marveled at the solar system he could see from earth. He wrote in Psalm 19: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. "In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices like a strong man to run its race. Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat" (verses 1-6). The sun has been "saying" something that the world didn't "hear" until 1985. And humankind is only now gearing up to do something about it. The sun is beautiful, magnificent, awe-inspiring—and it is streaming a rare element into the moon's dust that may well change our world forever. Fifty years have passed since the United States responded to the Russian Sputnik with a successful American satellite launch in early 1958. The race for space that followed is now a subject for history. Likely, the Tom Hanks movie Apollo 13 about the aborted lunar mission informs more people than textbooks do about this bygone era. First moon race, a contest between ideologies Why did America go to the moon? At the time, there was a fierce Cold War competition between the United States and Soviet Union over virtually every issue possible. The moon race was a proxy contest between capitalism and communism; the free world and the shadowy world behind the iron curtain. On May 25, 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy spoke before a specially convened joint session of Congress to deliver what he called an extraordinary State of the Union speech. Noting that this speech is traditionally given only once a year, President Kennedy asserted that the nation was in an extraordinary time, which called for dramatic action. Citing the Soviet achievement of its Sputnik launch four years before, he ignited the vision of America with these words: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." He framed America's motivation: "If we are to win the battle that is now going on around the world between freedom and tyranny, the dramatic achievements in space which occurred in recent weeks should have made clear to us all, as did the Sputnik in 1957, the impact of this adventure on the minds of men everywhere, who are attempting to make a determination of which road they should take." Thus, the moon race was an economic and technological competition between the world's superpowers. The American president defined it as necessary to help humankind choose "freedom over tyranny," implying that the winner of the race would literally shape the political structure of the world. America, of course, won, placing men on the moon as Kennedy proposed, before the decade was out on July 21, 1969. Yet, I know of no developing nations that subsequently chose democracy over communism because of America's victory. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) boasts of many now everyday technological advances that the space program made possible. "Every day, in a variety of ways, American lives are touched by space technology. Since 1976, over 1,500 documented NASA technologies have benefited U.S. industry, improved the quality of life, and created jobs. The Apollo program has helped change the way of life in America" (www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/). Critics of the program argue that it's an incredibly expensive way to conduct research and development! These technological advances could have been discovered for a fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars through which the U.S. space program has burned. Why the United States is going again So why is a new race to the moon underway? NASA is soon to dust off its Apollo series technology to return to the moon. In January 2004, President George W. Bush announced a renewed American commitment to space exploration, including returning to the moon. Citing "a spirit of discovery" as motivation, he also pointed to technological spin-offs from past NASA work: "The exploration of space has led to advances in weather forecasting, in communications, in computing, search and rescue technology, robotics, and electronics. "Our investment in space exploration helped to create our satellite telecommunications network and the Global Positioning System. Medical technologies that help prolong life—such as the imaging processing used in CAT scanners and MRI machines—trace their origins to technology engineered for the use in space." Soviet communism aged, corroded and collapsed, outspent by the American capitalist juggernaut. The Soviet Union broke apart in the 1990s, but in recent years Russia has reemerged as a world economic power. It is diverting some of its newfound wealth into its space program. Russia, too, is returning to the moon. Is history repeating itself? Is Russia out to settle an old score with the United States to see which power can outdo the other? No, this is a different world altogether from the Cold War era. Illustrative of the change is the fact that China is a top-tier player. While unquestionably far behind American space technology, China has come incredibly far from 1957 when Chairman Mao complained in uncustomary frankness "that China was so underdeveloped that it couldn't even put a potato into space"! (Fred Guteri, "Race to the Moon," Newsweek, Oct. 11, 2007). China actually already sent a probe to the moon in November 2007. It plans to land a rover there by 2012 and to conduct soil sampling by 2017. There are rumors of a possible manned landing by 2020. It's a crowded field—and a rush for the "gold" But there are still more nations headed to the moon. The names may surprise you: India (probe to launch in March this year; joint mission with Russia to put rover on moon by 2011; study mineral resources, 2012-2015; considering a manned mission to follow); Japan and Germany considering individual moon probes around 2010; South Korea (probe by 2015; orbiter by 2020). Moreover, several of these nations are partnering with other nations, such as Brazil, France, Ukraine, Canada and, not surprisingly, the European Union. Why? What's the big draw? Are all nations suddenly bitten by the discovery bug? Why would they duplicate what each other is doing? Within President Bush's 2004 speech lays a possible reason. Almost incidentally, he mentioned: "Also, the moon is home to abundant resources." That's an understatement. There's a modern "gold rush" developing as nations pack their lunar mining tools. Only, it's not gold they're after, it's helium, specifically the isotope helium-3 (He3). It's all about meeting the energy needs of the earth. This all stems from lunar soil sample #75501, collected by geologist astronaut Harrison Schmitt on Dec. 13, 1972, on the Apollo 17 mission. Thirteen years later, engineers at the University of Wisconsin discovered significant quantities of helium-3 in that sample. Helium-3 is relatively plentiful in lunar soil, in contrast to only small amounts on earth. Lest I lose you at this point, I want to jump ahead to the potential commercial value of helium-3. Russian space geologist Erik Galimov summed it up by acknowledging that the nation that colonizes the moon will "put the rest of the world in its knees as hydrocarbons run out" (Izvestia, quoted by John Lasker, "Race to the Moon for Nuclear Fuel," wired.com, Dec. 15, 2006, emphasis added). The unbelievable potential of helium-3 Consider these facts: • Supporters call helium-3 the perfect fuel, with enormous commercial and national defense potential. • Harrison Schmitt estimates that a single space shuttle load of helium-3 (approximately 25 tons) could supply the entire energy needs of the United States for a year. • Scientists estimate the moon has about 1 million tons of helium-3, enough to power the world for 1,000 years! • Just the Sea of Tranquility (site of Apollo 17's landing) holds enough helium-3 to power the world for hundreds of years. • The nuclear reaction involved with turning helium-3 into electrical power is so clean a process that a helium-3 plant could theoretically be built in the middle of a big city. • Helium-3 is worth approximately $40,000 per ounce. • Compared with the energy from oil, helium-3's potential value is $4 billion a ton (Julie Wakefield, "Researchers and Space Enthusiasts See Helium-3 as the Perfect Fuel Source," SPACE.com, June 30, 2000). A gift from God? The source of helium-3 takes us back to Psalm 19's praise to the Creator for the awesome star He made for our solar system. The sun is constantly pumping out enormous quantities of helium, which solar winds carry toward earth. Only a small part of this is helium-3, and earth's magnetic field pushes it away. But the moon does not repel the isotope. Consequently, God's creation has been bombarding the moon for perhaps billions of years with helium-3. Meteor strikes stir the helium-3 and drive it deep into the dust and rock of the lunar surface, where it waits for those who would mine it. As exciting as this all sounds, it won't be easy. Even the supporters of developing power from helium-3 say that a viable process is still decades away. Detractors doubt that it's even possible. If all goes well, Harrison Schmitt admits it will take a million tons of lunar soil, heated to 1470 degrees Fahrenheit to liberate and harvest 70 tons of helium-3. That's why the nations in the race are planning not just to reach the moon, but also to establish bases there from which mining operations could be handled. And, as far off as success of this project might be, the world's wealthiest nations are literally pouring billions upon billions of dollars into the race to be among those to win the prize of helium-3. If God allows this world to continue for decades, the nation or nations to reach and develop the moon's resources will dominate the world. But maybe God has provided this seemingly marvelous clean source of power for the world to come, the Kingdom that Christ will establish on this earth. WNP |
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