Radioactive Fuel and Inner Planets

I'm a supporter of nuclear power for planetary habitation however, it has
just occurred to me. Are their any sources of Nuclear fuel in the inner
planets other than earth.

Ignoring the required aspects of enrichment and purification etc required to
make the fuel, have we identified locations where the actual source material
is available off-earth??

Christian Ramos wrote:
I'm a supporter of nuclear power for planetary habitation however, it has
just occurred to me. Are their any sources of Nuclear fuel in the inner
planets other than earth.

Ignoring the required aspects of enrichment and purification etc required to
make the fuel, have we identified locations where the actual source material
is available off-earth??

Both Mars and The Moon contain regions of elevated
Thorium, Uranium, et al abundance.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04257

http://pds-geosciences.wustl.edu/mis...l1/thorium.jpg

In article ,
Christian Ramos wrote:
Ignoring the required aspects of enrichment and purification etc required to
make the fuel, have we identified locations where the actual source material
is available off-earth??

Yes and no and kind of. Uranium and thorium certainly exist off Earth,
and their general abundances have been mapped on the Moon and Mars with
gamma-ray spectrometers. However, useful ore bodies need to be quite
concentrated, and at the moment I don't believe we know of any of *those*
off Earth -- they would typically not be easily detectable from orbit, and
our understanding of the extremes of lunar and Martian geology isn't yet
good enough to predict where they might be. (Ores are extreme cases,
pretty much by definition.)

The odds are better on Mars than on the Moon. There are ore-forming
processes that don't involve water, but the presence of water greatly
increases the range of possibilities.
--
"Think outside the box -- the box isn't our friend." | Henry Spencer
-- George Herbert |

"Henry Spencer" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Christian Ramos wrote:
Ignoring the required aspects of enrichment and purification etc required
to
make the fuel, have we identified locations where the actual source
material
is available off-earth??

Yes and no and kind of. Uranium and thorium certainly exist off Earth,
and their general abundances have been mapped on the Moon and Mars with
gamma-ray spectrometers.
However, useful ore bodies need to be quite
concentrated, and at the moment I don't believe we know of any of *those*
off Earth -- they would typically not be easily detectable from orbit, and
our understanding of the extremes of lunar and Martian geology isn't yet
good enough to predict where they might be. (Ores are extreme cases,
pretty much by definition.)

The odds are better on Mars than on the Moon. There are ore-forming
processes that don't involve water, but the presence of water greatly
increases the range of possibilities.

Good to know that their are possibilities. You mentioned that some mapping
had occurred of abundances, can you point to a particular project or mission
for me to follow up on for my interest. I'm particularly interested on the
lunar side of things, but a Mars reference would be of use as well.

Christian Ramos wrote:
Good to know that their are possibilities. You mentioned that some mapping
had occurred of abundances, can you point to a particular project or mission
for me to follow up on for my interest. I'm particularly interested on the
lunar side of things, but a Mars reference would be of use as well.

Lunar Prospector and Mars Odyssey (both of which carried
a Gamma Ray Spectrometer). I posted links to maps in my
previous reply.

"Christopher M. Jones" wrote in message
...
Christian Ramos wrote:
Good to know that their are possibilities. You mentioned that some
mapping
had occurred of abundances, can you point to a particular project or
mission
for me to follow up on for my interest. I'm particularly interested on
the
lunar side of things, but a Mars reference would be of use as well.

Lunar Prospector and Mars Odyssey (both of which carried
a Gamma Ray Spectrometer). I posted links to maps in my
previous reply.

Many thanks..Missed them first time around. Fascinating stuff.