????自從前蘇聯于1976年在月球表面軟著陸以來，還沒有第二個國家完成過這樣的壯舉。因此，日前中國的玉兔號月球車登月令人震驚。中國太空探索的動機尚不明確，中國政府對此也三緘其口，但據信中國主要是為了月球表面和月表之下的物質：氦-3。

????氦-3是氦的一種輕型非放射性同位素，在地球上的儲量幾乎為零，然而在月球上儲量卻非常豐富。氦-3歷來被認為是利用核聚變發電不可或缺的成分。科學家認為，核聚變發電將顛覆整個能源行業。氦-3的電能轉化效率為60-70%，高于核裂變反應，而且轉化過程中幾乎不產生任何放射性廢物。據威斯康星-麥迪遜大學（University of Wisconsin-Madison）工程學院研究副院長杰拉爾德?庫爾肯斯基稱，利用核聚變發電的另一個優勢在于它產能巨大。庫爾肯斯基預計，月球上氦-3中所蘊含的能量是地球上天然氣、石油以及煤炭所蘊含的總能量的10倍。他解釋稱：“四十噸氦-3所產生的電能就可以滿足全美2014年的電力需求。”

????普林斯頓等離子體物理實驗室研究副主任邁克爾?扎恩斯多夫表示，美國和歐洲多年來一直在探索核聚變發電，而現在中國也開始嘗試。扎恩斯多夫稱：“隨著人口增長，他們（中國）的能源需求大增，同時也急切希望擺脫環境污染問題。”如果中國能夠利用氦-3，通過核聚變來發電，那就能解決環境污染這個大難題。中國的環境污染問題已經令一些高管和政客不滿。而如果中國的污染問題得到解決，中國就有望成為能源大國，向那些希望減少自身對石油依賴的國家提供清潔能源。

????利用核聚變發電的障礙很明顯。第一個問題就是如何將氦-3這種通常以氣態存在的物質從月球上運走。這個過程將花費數十億美元，甚至意味著要把氦-3運到地球上可能需要在月球上就地把氦-3轉化成核聚變能。庫爾肯斯基表示，對于氦-3的運輸和轉化是否可實現，美國聯邦政府機構間尚未達成共識。“美國能源部認為，美國航空航天局無力登月運回氦-3，而美國航空航天局認為美國能源部沒有資源和能力將氦-3轉化為核聚變能。

????扎恩斯多夫指出，美國政府機構間缺乏共識并不意味著核聚變發電徹底沒戲了。扎恩斯多夫稱，歐盟、美國、日本、韓國、印度、中國以及俄羅斯在法國南部有一個名為“ITER”（國際熱核實驗反應堆）的合作項目，旨在“通過核聚變生產商品化能源”。這個項目已經運作了20多年，并于2007年簽署了一項協定，以建立研發框架，在之后10年支持聚變能。項目預計今年將啟動托卡馬克大樓的建設，首批組件預計將于2014年到位。

????但中國似乎等不及了，最近的玉兔號月球車登月就是例證。（財富中文網）

????譯者：項航

????No country had successfully completed a soft landing on the moon since the Soviet Union in 1976, which is why eyebrows were raised when China's rover Jade Rabbit landed on the lunar surface this past weekend. While China's motives for space exploration are not clear and the Chinese government is keeping quiet, their interest is expected to be in the substance that lies both above and below the moon's surface: helium-3.

????Helium-3 is a light, non-radioactive isotope of helium that is nearly nonexistent on Earth, yet abundant on the moon, and has long been considered the missing piece needed to create fusion power. Scientists deem fusion power to be a potential game-changing source of energy. Helium-3 has a higher efficiency of conversion to electricity than fission, at a rate of 60-70%, and can produce energy with little to no radioactive waste. Another upside of fusion power according to Gerald L. Kulcinski, associate dean of research of college of engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison, is the amount of energy it can produce. He estimates there is 10 times more energy in helium-3 on the moon than in all the natural gas, oil, and coal on the Earth combined. "Forty tons of helium-3 would provide all the electricity for the U.S. in 2014," Kulcinski explained.

????Michael C. Zarnstorff, deputy director of research for Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, says the U.S. and Europe have been trying to make fusion power for years, and now China is making an attempt: "They [China] need a lot more energy due to their increasing population, and they really want to get rid of the pollution problems they have." If China is able to harness helium-3 and produce fusion power they would be able to fix their massive pollution, which has soured some executives and politicians. If and when China's pollution problem is rectified, it could potentially become a major energy resource player and offer a clean energy option to countries looking to wean themselves from oil dependency.

????There are still significant roadblocks to harnessing fusion power. One of the first issues is transporting the helium-3 material from the moon, which naturally occurs as a gas. This will cost billions of dollars, and even moving the material back down to Earth would require the process of actually turning that helium-3 into fusion power while still on the moon. According to Kulcinski, there isn't an agreement between federal agencies if the transporting or conversion aspects are achievable. "The Department of Energy doesn't think NASA can go to the moon and bring back the material, while NASA doesn't think the Department of Energy has the resources or ability to be able to turn it into fusion power," he said.

????Zarnstorff pointed out that the lack of an agreement between U.S. agencies doesn't mean the effort for finding a way for fusion power is dead. He pointed to a joint project between the European Union, the U.S., Japan, Korea, India, China, and Russia in southern France called ITER (International Thermonucelar Experimental Reactor) that aims to "produce commercial energy from fusion." The project has been operating for more than 20 years, and in 2007 an agreement was signed to establish a framework for research and development supporting fusion energy over the course of 10 years. This year, ITER was projected to start the Tokamak Complex construction, and the first manufactured components are expected to arrive in 2014.

????Based on their voyage, it seems China didn't want to wait.