Uranium exists on the moon, according to new data from a
Japanese spacecraft.
The findings are the first conclusive evidence for the
presence of the radioactive element in lunar dirt, the researchers said. They
announced the discovery recently at the 40th Lunar and Planetary Conference and
at the Proceedings of the International Workshop Advances in Cosmic Ray Science.
The revelation suggests that nuclear
power plants could be built on the moon, or even that Earth's satellite
could serve as a mining source for uranium needed back home.
The Japanese
Kaguya spacecraft, which was launched in 2007, detected uranium with a gamma-ray
spectrometer. Scientists are using the instrument to create maps of the moon's surface
composition, showing the presence of thorium, potassium, oxygen, magnesium,
silicon, calcium, titanium and iron.
"We've already gotten uranium results, which have never
been reported before," said Robert Reedy, a senior scientist at the
Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute, and a member of the Kaguya science
team. "We're getting more new elements and refining and confirming results
found on the old maps."
The findings could help decide where to build future lunar
colonies, since manned outposts will need energy, and could potentially derive
it from nuclear power plants.
Furthermore, since uranium supplies on Earth are
scarce, mining uranium on the moon to satisfy our energy needs at home
could prove lucrative.
Kaguya, officially named SELENE ("Selenological and Engineering
Explorer"), crashed into
the lunar surface at the end of its mission on June 10.
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