Ouyang advocates eventually mining the moon for minerals such as titanium and for potential nuclear fuels such as helium-3.
He believes that focusing on mining self-sustaining minerals would be more beneficial than trying to harvest and then transport helium-3.
He says that the moon holds about 1 million tons of helium-3.
What makes helium-3 so attractive as an alternative future fuel source is its environmentally friendly credentials, as it does not produce radioactive waste.
The substance that has such large potential is an isotope called helium-3, a form of helium but with only one neutron instead of two.
The moon contains large concentrations of helium-3, a nonradioactive isotope that's rare on Earth but could be an incredibly valuable fuel for nuclear fusion.
Research at the Fusion Technology Institute at the University of Wisconsin has also suggested that the process of mining helium-3 would produce other minerals to support space settlements.
But the Moon is a source of rare earth elements, as well as Helium-3, a possible future fuel for nuclear fusion reactors (if we ever actually invent them).
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However, while mining helium-3 from the moon will be one challenge, extracting energy from it is another, as it relies on nuclear fusion, rather than fission used in today's nuclear reactors.
Terrestrial helium, for example, consists of a small amount of helium-3 (the nucleus of which has two protons and one neutron), and mostly helium-4 (which has 2 protons and 2 neutrons).
"It is dubious whether it will ever be economically viable even if nuclear fusion works commercially or if helium-3 is a better option than other elements available on earth, " he told CNN.
It has been estimated that about 25 tons of helium-3, equal to just one payload of a space shuttle, would provide enough energy for the U.S. for a year at current consumption levels.
He plays Sam, an astronaut who is nearing the end of a three-year stint on the lunar surface, where he manages the mining of Helium-3, a precious substance that will save the planet Earth.
He and fellow Cornell researchers David Lee and Douglas Osheroff were awarded the Nobel for 1996 for their 1971 work on low-temperature physics involving the isotope helium-3, which has contributed to research ranging from the properties of microscopic matter to astrophysics.
"We are planning to build a permanent base on the moon by 2015 and by 2020 we can begin the industrial-scale delivery... of the rare isotope helium-3, " said Nikolai Sevastianov, head of Russian space vehicle manufacturer Energia, at a seminar in Moscow in January.
His bold statement might have been more of a publicity drive for Energia rather than a clear commitment to a program, but China, which has committed itself to a space program to land men on the moon by 2017 has also stated its interest in helium-3.
Energy resources that can be harvested in space for the benefit of Earth include helium-3 that occurs in abundance on both the Moon and asteroids and is ideal for new small fusion plants, as well as solar energy that can be collected and transmitted in concentrated form to Earth.
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