helium three

We need to get to the moon! – There is an alarming worldwide shortage of Helium 3, a byproduct that is critical to industries such as nuclear detection, oil and gas, and medical diagnostics. Despite the recession, maybe we’d better go to the moon after all!

The helium 3 isotope is relatively rare on Earth, so it is manufactured instead of recovered from natural deposits. It is formed when tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, decays. Only the United States and Russia produce significant amounts of tritium gas. Current supplies of helium-3 are sourced from the refurbishment and dismantlement of the nuclear stockpile.
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