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Remember Space-Led Industrial Policy Is a Science Driver, as China Does

June 10, 2019 (EIRNS)—It shouldn’t be forgotten that China’s space exploration pioneer Ouyang Ziyuan told NetEase Technology in December 2018 about a truly productive industrial policy, “science-driven” by space exploration:

“There is a resource on the Moon, which is the ultimate energy for our future, called helium-3, the raw material for nuclear fusion power generation. There is almost no helium-3 on the Earth, and the soil of the Moon is rich in helium-3 resources.

“In 2006, I asked Academician Garimov, the chief scientist of the Russian lunar exploration project. I said, ‘Garimov, what is the ultimate goal of your Russian lunar exploration?’ He crossed his hands and told me proudly, ‘To solve the energy problem of the future of all mankind.’ ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘Garimov, next year when Chang’e-1 goes to Heaven, I’m going to get the distribution and total amount of helium-3 resources in the lunar soil.’ He was surprised. ‘How can you do that in China?’ I said that ‘after 3-4 years of preparation, we will be able to complete it.’

“According to our exploration, the resources [of helium-3] on the Moon are about 1.2 million tons. When nuclear fusion power generation is realized, the world’s annual energy demand is about 100 tons of helium-3. The lunar helium-3 resources can meet the energy demand of mankind for at least 10,000 years in the future. This is the wealth of mankind, so we want to publish it for the whole world.”

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