It also bodes ill for the prospect of fusion using helium-3, a rare helium isotope that is missing a neutron.

这也预示着，利用氦- 3这种缺少一个中子的稀有的氦同位素进行核聚变的前景很黯淡。

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Astronomers talk of placing a radio telescope on the moon's far side; energy experts want to mine the moon's helium 3, an isotope that could power clean-fusion reactors back on Earth.

天文学家想在月球远端放置射电望远镜；能量学家想提取月球上的氦3这种可以驱动清洁融合反应器回到地球的同位素。

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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.

FORBES: Magazine Article

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.

WSJ: Cornell physicist and Nobel winner Richardson dies

"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.

CNN: Mining the moon for a nuclear future