The moon is the only natural satellite of the earth. From ancient times to the present, people have had a special feeling for the moon. In ancient times, there were many hymns about the moon, and there were also many myths and legends about the moon. The reason why the moon has an unusual position in the hearts of mankind is that besides it is the brightest celestial body we can see at night, more importantly, it brings a lot of brilliance to the dark night.
We all know that in ancient times, there were no street lights and other lighting facilities, and it was very dangerous for people to travel at night. But with the moon, especially when it is full, the night is brighter, and people are much safer to walk at night. Therefore, the position of the moon in the hearts of the ancients was very high, even surpassing the sun.
Of course, the ancients did not know that the moon was actually a small satellite of the earth. It was not until humans entered the technological age that we used astronomical telescopes to initially see the true face of the moon. It is actually not beautiful. The surface is covered with craters and various craters. It is a very desolate planet.
To learn more about the moon, we still need to board it for close observation. In 1969, Apollo 11 achieved a manned landing on the moon, and humans stepped on the surface of the moon for the first time, completing an epoch-making feat. Although in the following half a century, humans never stepped on the moon, our probe has never given up on the continuous exploration of the moon.
Through continuous exploration of the moon, we also have a lot of knowledge about the moon, and to truly understand the moon, we must first know its origin. How did the moon come? There have been many speculations about the origin of the moon, and even scholars of alien civilization research believe that the moon may be an alien civilization spacecraft, placed in the moon’s orbit to monitor the earth and humans.
Of course, there is no actual proof that the moon is an alien civilization spacecraft. Scientists have discovered through research on the lunar soil and rocks that the material composition on it is very similar to that of the earth, so some people think that the moon may have been a molecule of the earth, formed by fragments that were stripped from the earth.
So the origin of the moon has an impact theory, and this view has been supported by more and more scientists. Scientists once thought that the moon is so desolate and the resources on it should be very barren, but subsequent explorations have told us that this view is wrong. The moon is not barren, on the contrary, its resources are very rich.
The overall chemical composition of the moon is very similar to that of the earth, but there are also some differences. Most of the metal resources on the earth are found on the moon. The resource-rich substances on the moon are very rare on the earth. For example, helium-3 is only a few tons on the earth, while there are at least millions of tons on the moon.
Helium-3 is the perfect fuel for nuclear fusion. In the future, mankind will enter the era of nuclear fusion. At that time, the demand for helium-3 is very large. This helium-3 resource on the earth can only allow us to conduct laboratory research and exploration, and it is impossible to apply it on a large scale. Therefore, an important goal for mankind to explore the moon is the rich helium-3 resources above.
How did such a rich moon come from? Scientists put forward the theory of impacts, believing that in the early stages of the solar system, chaotic solar system collisions often occurred. A planet the size of Mars hit the earth, and the resulting fragments formed the current moon under the action of gravity. In other words, the moon is a combination of the two fragments, so in this collision event, who produced more fragments? Is it the Mars-sized celestial body or the earth?
This is very important for us to understand the situation of the lunar resources. With the continuous improvement of the level of science and technology, scientists have discovered that the lunar plains contain very few metal minerals, and on the lunar plateau, the metal abundance even exceeds that of many strata of the earth. .
Such a huge difference confuses scientists. Theoretically, before the collision, the earth had completely divided its core, mantle, and crust, and the moon was just a product of the accumulation of debris clouds. Therefore, the expected metal content of the moon was barren and should be Not so rich.
Scientists guessed that the earth was not damaged by the sun at the time of the big collision, and the protoplanet may have been completely shattered. Most of the debris and a few pieces of the earth formed the moon. And that planet may also be a planet rich in metals.
This is also a good proof of why the helium-3 resources on the moon are so abundant. It may not come from the earth, but the primitive planet. If this guess is correct, it means that the resources of the moon are far more complex and abundant than we thought, and there may be some metal elements that are not available on the earth.
Although we know that the earth has abundant resources, and even the helium-3 resources that make people jealous, it is still impossible to realize moon mining with the current space technology of mankind. At most, we are now able to collect some samples from the moon for research. For example, Chang’e 5 collected about 1,713 grams of samples from the moon, which is a little more than three catties.
Even bringing back more than three kilograms of samples is a very remarkable thing for humans. At present, only a few aerospace powers can realize this technology. It can be seen that mankind’s space technology still cannot do it if it wants to exploit the moon.
Of course, the speed of human science and technology development is very fast, and it cannot be done now, and it may become a reality in decades. As for the exploitation of lunar resources, scientists are also full of expectations. It is expected that in the middle of this century, we will be able to establish mining bases on the moon, and at that time we will be able to initially realize the exploitation of resources.
Of course, if human beings can realize controllable nuclear fusion technology in the next few decades, then the energy and power of spacecraft can develop qualitative changes. At that time, spacecraft will no longer need rockets to enter and exit the earth, but will be like airplanes. The same can rise and fall freely. At that time, human spacecraft could also easily bring a large amount of materials to the moon, and truly start the large-scale development of the moon.
In the future, the moon will become an important collection point for mankind. Not only will there be a lot of mining, but there will also be moon cities. Many earth residents will migrate to the moon city, realizing the hope of the ancients living on the moon.