Looks like one of the missions of the Mars mission, aside from setting up a base on the moon, is to mine the moon for Helium-3, one of the possible fuel sources for fusion reactors in the far future. Scarce on earth, Helium-3 is said to be very abundant on the Moon’s Surface.

Some pundits however have pointed out that it might not be practical, since sending all those drill rigs to the moon might far outweight the cost benefit we get from mining Helium-3.

Some other issues that cropped up is the 1979 UN Moon Treaty, which states that there is a ban on all exploration without prior consent of member states. However, looking at the Moon Treaty, only 12 countries have ratified the treaty (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Peru, Pakistan and Uruguay.)

Countries who are bent on setting up moon bases haven’t signed the treaty (Russia, China, US)

Original Article here from Wired

It’s a bit late to announce this as this accord happened last week… still it is quite an historical event as 30 countries take the first step in developing a commercially viable nuclear fusion reactor… France edged out Japan in the bidding to host the plant, which will be situated in Cadarache.

Compared to Nuclear fission, which is the technology behind all nuclear powerplants, Nuclear Fusion is more safer and less damaging to the environment in the event of an accident.

Article here

Rosenergoatam, a Russian company specializing in Nuclear Energy, is planning to build a nuclear power barge to service the northern territories where the bad weather makes it difficult to deliver oil and coal, making a self sustaining power plant the only available option. This project is estimated to cost around $200 million. The power plants to be used will generate 60 MW each, similar to what is being used in Russian Icebreakers. The completion date is expected to be by 2010.
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