Two UW-Madison professors have proposed a solution to waning global energy sources--take energy from the moon, according to the Associate Press.
UW-Madison nuclear engineering Professor and Director of the Fusion Technology Institute Gerald Kulcinski and Fusion Technology Institute Professor John Santarius said the rocks on the moon hold helium-3, an energy source approximately 1 million times more powerful than coal.
Under their plan, astronauts would fill a space shuttle with canisters full of the rock. Because the helium-3 exists only on first few feet of the moon's surface, it would need to be gathered horizontally over the moon's exterior.
One cargo supply would provide the United States with all the electricity it needs for a year, according to the scientists.
They predict the moon has enough energy to last the U.S. over 1,000 years.
Additionally, the endeavour would be environmentally friendly as it creates no greenhouse emissions.
Because President Bush is currently considering contructing a lunar base, Kulcinski and Santarius said using the moon as an energy source may be a serious possibility.
