XPost: sci.space.policy   
   From: quibbler247@yahoo.com   
      
   In article ,   
   gigantin@shore.net says...   
   > Is there any known or guessed quantity of He3 on asteroids or dead   
   > comets? If an object has been orbitting for 4+ billion years, it   
   > should have collected some from the solar wind. It seems that He3   
   > would be easier to obtain from something like Eros than the Moon, if   
   > it existed in similar density. If there was a supply, collecting and   
   > separating He3 could be much simpler in the micro-G environment.   
   >   
   > I did a quick Google and found little, but am wondering what you   
   > think?   
      
   In principle some could build up over time.  However, he3 would have an   
   easy time escaping the gravitational attraction of many of the very small   
   asteroids and comets.  Intense sunlight could cook the he3 off the   
   surface.   It's an empirical question as to whether there would be   
   sufficient quantities to justify extraction.  After all, there's gold in   
   sea water...but not enough gold :).   
      
   Also, actually getting fusion reactions to run with he3 on a large scale   
   is not a well developed technology.  It's a bit premature to want to mine   
   he3 anywhere.   
      
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