India Plans to Start Mining the Moon by 2030

April 21, 2017

India’s ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) has something very ambitious in mind — they plan to start mining on the Moon to meet the country’s energy needs by the year 2030.

According to a report by Live Mint, the country’s leading space agency is working on a plan to mine Helium-3 rich lunar dust and bring it back to the Earth. This plan on mining dust of the moon was first revealed in February by Dr. Sivathanu Pillai.

“All of India’s energy requirements could be met through Helium 3 mined from the moon. By 2030, this processing target will be met,” Pillai said.

Pillai, the former chief of Brahmos Aerospace, said that the Moon’s surface is a good source of regolith, the layer of loose rock above hard rock, which is packed with Helium 3. This substance can not only provide energy to India and the whole planet but can also produce an enormous amount of power without the consequence of harmful carbon emissions and radioactive products.

ISRO’s lunar mining plan is backed up by an attempt to cut down the country’s dependency on hydrocarbons by 10% come 2022, according to India.com.

The space agency, where Pillia is a professor, considers this program a priority. The only thing that they need now apart from testing and carefully mapping out their lunar mining plan are some investors who are willing to pitch in on the project.

With this kind of aggressive plan, expect the expense to also be out of this world.

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