Fusion on the Moon

This open access book explores synergies between two of the most ambitious high technology challenges of the twenty-first century—lunar settlement and nuclear fusion energy. Governance arrangements for the Moon are weak, and the world is in a period of intense geopolitical competition. In both the space and fusion sectors, private enterprise is taking the lead where once national laboratories and public sector technology developers were dominant. This book envisages a scenario whereby energy demand in the lunar economy could be significantly higher, if only supply were able to match to that demand. This book considers such a high-power lunar future. In such a scenario, different things will happen than are expected in more incremental futures. A megawatt-scale lunar scenario is not easily satisfied using renewable solar power and furthermore conventional nuclear energy, based on the physics of fission, has certain drawbacks. However, the less mature technology of fusion shows promise. Imagining fusion on the Moon, as this book does, reveals insights that rather than simply suggesting that lunar fusion will be even harder to achieve than on Earth, it reveals key ways in which Fusion on the Moon could be easier. Importantly, fusion on the Moon has the potential to link to new neutronic fusion reactions, free of a reliance on hard-to-source tritium. Helium-3, as found on the Moon, could be key to such futures further boosting the prospects for Fusion on the Moon. This book is written in an accessible style and is designed for students of physics, engineering, the space economy, and innovation. It also suits the needs of experts in one domain—e.g., space, fusion energy—keen to learn more about the challenges and opportunities of the other. It offers a fresh interdisciplinary perspective on how technology, energy, industry, and various commercial scenarios could shape future activity on the Moon.