Two Quintillion Tons of Metal or Dense Oxides Found on the Moon
It could be a pile of metal five times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii.
It was found by analyzing measurements of subtle changes in the strength of gravity around the Moon, researchers analyzed data from spacecrafts used for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission.
Computer simulations of large asteroid impacts suggest that, under the right conditions, an iron-nickel core of an asteroid may be dispersed into the upper mantle (the layer between the Moon's crust and core) during an impact.
"We did the math and showed that a sufficiently dispersed core of the asteroid that made the impact could remain suspended in the Moon's mantle until the present day, rather than sinking to the Moon's core," James said.
Another possibility is that the large mass might be a concentration of dense oxides associated with the last stage of lunar magma ocean solidification.
And once we get the metals mined, we will be able to build this (below) to go to the stars.
Game Changing Direct Drive Fusion Propulsion Progress
Since DFD provides power as well as propulsion in one integrated device, it will also provide as much as 1 MW of useful electrical power to the payloads upon arrival. This enables high-bandwidth optical communication, powering of the lander from orbit, and radically expanded options for instrument design.
The Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC), which is a steady-state fusion reactor concept with heating via rotating magnetic fields. A thrust model of the reactor is presented that is based on a fluid code modeling the exchange of energy in the plasma surrounding the reactor.