--- title: "The Chinese Moon Rover Could Be Scouting for Interplanetary Fuel" description: "The Chinese Moon rover could be on the hunt for helium-3, a gas that could make the Moon a gateway to interplanetary missions." date: "2019-01-07" modified: "2019-01-07" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chinese-moon-rover-interplanetary-fuel" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "Space" tags: - "china" - "helium-3" - "moon" - "the digest" --- # The Chinese Moon Rover Could Be Scouting for Interplanetary Fuel ![The Chinese moon rover could be scoping out whether the Moon could be a source for helium-3, a fuel that could make it a gateway to interplanetary missions.]() *\Image: CSNA\* ## Interplanetary Fuel Futurism has been [closely following]() the progress of Chang'e-4, the Chinese Moon lander that [touched down on the far side of the Moon]() last week and released a rover called Yutu 2. As the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon in history**,** the mission was a coup for the Chinese space program. But [new reporting]() by the *South China Morning Post*, a Hong Kong newspaper, suggests that the Chinese government could have an ulterior motive: scoping out whether the Moon contains an isotope the nation could used to fuel interplanetary missions. ## Moon Unit The fuel in question is helium-3, the non-radioactive isotope featured in the 2009 Duncan Jones film "Moon." Lunar regolith may be rich in helium-3, which could theoretically be a [compelling source of fusion energy]() — or even power [next-generation fusion rockets](). That's all far in the future, but that doesn't mean space pioneers in China don't have their eyes on the prize. "China thinks in decades," Clive Neal, a lunar expert at the University of Notre Dame, told *SCMP*. "The U.S. thinks in presidential terms." **READ MORE:** [The Fuel Quest That Could Be Driving China’s Mission to the Moon]() \[*South China Morning Post*\] ***More on Chang’e-4:** [China Just Landed a Rover on the Far Side of the Moon]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()