Will we find Uranium In Space?
Hello Gang,
Forgive me for the idiosyncratic habit of asking too many questions. Its one of the quirks in character I have retained since childhood.
Some people within the space community have called for the development of nuclear rocketry (NERVA and PROMETHEUS) for the next wave of exploration of solar system. The question I have is this: Given the concerns of a possible Challenger style disaster and the possible consequences if such a disaster involved a nuclear reactor upper stage, wouldn't it be wise to develop this type of nuclear propulsion on the Moon instead?
So here is my related question: What are the chances of finding reserves of Uranium ore on the Moon or asteroids?
Alex Michael Bonnici
I suspect the prospect of finding uranium deposits in spaceis very low. Uranium ores on Earth are created by running water over geological units of time. Some have become so concentrated that they have actually gone critical. I believe two such sites are known, both in Africa. A Google search would probably turn them up. The evidence is in the isotopic abundances still at the sites. But where would such conditions exist in space other than on Earth? Not likely anywhere. And how long would looking for it take, even if there is some small concentration? I would first guess, that looking with but the most efficient technology would not be a productive enterprise. But, well, maybe there is data on this question as far as the Moon is concern, as one can efficiently collectradiations (neutrons, beta'sand gamma rays) with orbiting space craft directly from the surfaces of airless worlds. The data collected from the Moon might show such deposits, but I doubt there is such deposits on the surface or we would know about it by now. If one mines asteroids, then it might be possible to concentrate the uranium in those materials as a by product, along with the precious metals, etc. So those are my thoughts on that. Sincerely, Jay Huebner
Hello Gang,
Forgive me for the idiosyncratic habit of asking too many questions. Its one of the quirks in character I have retained since childhood.
Some people within the space community have called for the development of nuclear rocketry (NERVA and PROMETHEUS) for the next wave of exploration of solar system. The question I have is this: Given the concerns of a possible Challenger style disaster and the possible consequences if such a disaster involved a nuclear reactor upper stage, wouldn't it be wise to develop this type of nuclear propulsion on the Moon instead?
So here is my related question: What are the chances of finding reserves of Uranium ore on the Moon or asteroids?
Alex Michael Bonnici
Hello Gang,
Forgive me for the idiosyncratic habit of asking too many questions. Its one of the quirks in character I have retained since childhood.
Some people within the space community have called for the development of nuclear rocketry (NERVA and PROMETHEUS) for the next wave of exploration of solar system. The question I have is this: Given the concerns of a possible Challenger style disaster and the possible consequences if such a disaster involved a nuclear reactor upper stage, wouldn't it be wise to develop this type of nuclear propulsion on the Moon instead?
So here is my related question: What are the chances of finding reserves of Uranium ore on the Moon or asteroids?
Alex Michael Bonnici
> I suspect the prospect of finding uranium deposits in space is
very low. Uranium ores on Earth are created by running water over
geological units of time.
elements heavier than iron.
> Some have become so concentrated that they have actually gone
critical. I believe two such sites are known, both in Africa. A
Google search would probably turn them up. The evidence is in the
isotopic abundances still at the sites. But where would such
conditions exist in space other than on Earth? Not likely anywhere.
If you mean, would large pure quantities exist in one volume of
rock, I would say not likely as well. However, would large
quantities of a subcritical mass (say a lead-uranium alloy) exist?
Certainly, otherwise subcritical masses wouldn't exist in places
like Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada.
When one looks at metals like copper, nickel, and gold, one can see
that on the earth they too are concentrated in localized areas. All
of these are the results of meteor impacts. And the biggest impact
in the last 100 million years, whose debris spread worldwide and is
a thin layer everywhere, had a high concentration of iridium.
The earth, with its oceans and atmosphere and life all affecting a
thin layer of the outer crust, is the exception in the solar system,
not the rule. However, scratch the surface a little (a few tens of
kilometers) and one finds that the earth is mostly iron - much
different from the first few kilometers above and below the surface.
My hypothesis is that whenever we examine samples from small (<1km)
bodies orbiting the sun, that the vast majority of the mass of
material found on that body would be within 2 places on the periodic
table (ie Fe/Co/Ni, C/N/O, Ir/Pt/Au, Na/Mg/Al) and in the case of
radioactive elements, that there would also be alloys of the
original element and the decay products (ie uranium/thorium decay
series:
http://www.sea-us.org.au/images/maum/decaychart.gif ).
> And how long would looking for it take, even if there is some
small concentration? I would first guess, that looking with but the
most efficient technology would not be a productive enterprise.
But, well, maybe there is data on this question as far as the Moon
is concern, as one can efficiently collect radiations (neutrons,
beta's and gamma rays) with orbiting space craft directly from the
surfaces of airless worlds. The data collected from the Moon might
show such deposits, but I doubt there is such deposits on the
surface or we would know about it by now.
How would we know about it? Humans and robots have only been to the
Mare, not the bottoms of craters digging for ore.
> If one mines asteroids, then it might be possible to
concentrate the uranium in those materials as a by product, along
with the precious metals, etc. So those are my thoughts on that.
Sincerely, Jay Huebner
>
I think that if one samples a large number of asteroids that among
those samples will be some very interesting pieces of rock, not just
specifically looking at uranium.
Ed
--- In ssi_list@... "Ed Minchau"
> --- In ssi_list@... "Huebner, Jay"
> > is very low. Uranium ores on Earth are created by running water
> > over geological units of time.
> Uranium is not formed by running water. Only a supernova can
> create elements heavier than iron.
You're misunderstanding what Jay wrote by skipping over the
word "ore." The ore is formed as Jay explained. He wasn't referring
to the creation of the element.
TangoMan