Moon Gas

Oil prices began a moderate retreat as the discovery of undetermined amounts of natural gases in the south polar region of the moon. No timeline has been given for further exploration.

It was an unexpected find when a probe named Huygens parachuted from the parent spacecraft Cassini to investigate what had appeared to be hundreds of dark, lake-like features. In the joint venture of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, the success of the launch included proof that, other than Earth, there is now at least one celestial body in the Solar System that has liquid on its surface. The total cost of the mission is over $3B.

The body of liquid is about 7,800 square miles, slightly larger than Lake Ontario. Other dark areas on the surface have the same appearance but remain unconfirmed as other lakes of ethane, a liquid solution of methane, other hydrocarbons and nitrogen. The find substantiates scientific belief that clouds of methane exist in the moon’s atmosphere.

Ethane derivatives are rather diverse in their applications and could ease the energy squeeze of developing countries. A process called “cracking” incorporates a procedure that breaks down the molecule weight to produce “light hydrocarbons”. The resultant product is dependent on the temperature (750 to 950 degrees) and various catalysts.

One of the chemical byproducts produced is ethylene, which is used in a wide range of consumer products.

By nature, ethylene is produced by climacteric fruits, such as bananas, pears and tomatoes, to speed up ripening. That’s why some fruits ripen quicker in a plastic bag. Commercially, small amounts of ethylene are added to agriculture products to speed up ripening. It is also used to induce flowering but lessens the life of flower arrangements as it depletes the oxygen level.

Other commercial use is extensive: wires, insulation, automotive, carpets, flame-retardants, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. And plastics: shopping bags, plastic jugs and all those other consumer throwaway containers. Think of all those Made in China products.

It is also used in the process of producing gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel and ethanol.

Actually, this monumental discovery has nothing to do with Earth’s Moon but about obtaining scientific knowledge about the Solar System. The spacecraft Cassini was launched Oct 15 1997 then did two flybys of Venus before getting a gravitational boost as it passed by Earth on Aug 18, 1999. On Dec 20, 2003, the most detailed pictures to date of Jupiter were transmitted back to Earth as it gathered other scientific data.

Just imagine spacecraft Cassini cruising between the outer rings of F & G as it became the first spacecraft to reach orbit around Saturn on July 1, 2004. The probe Huygen was released Dec 25, 2004, and reached the surface of Titan on Jan 14, 2005. Titan is one of 60 known moons, of which only 52 have been named, and the brightest with a size consistent with small planets like Mercury.

So, none of the world’s ever-increasing energy needs can’t be solved with a commodity over 600 million miles out in space and, however extensive the volumes of ethane and other natural gases may be on Titan, it won’t help resolve any portion of our energy needs anytime in the foreseeable future.

Crude oil investors, and all those other opportunists of making an easy buck at the expense of Earth and its inhabitants, can add that bit of trivia to further justify their politic solution (excuse) of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.