Atmospheric Mining in the Outer Solar System: Resource Capturing, Exploration, and Exploitation

Atmospheric mining in the outer solar system (AMOSS) has been investigated as a means of fuel
production for high-energy propulsion and power. Fusion fuels such as helium 3 (He-3) and hydrogen can be
wrested from the atmospheres of Uranus and Neptune and either returned to Earth or used in-situ for energy
production. 3He and hydrogen (deuterium, etc.) were the primary gases of interest, with hydrogen being the
primary propellant for nuclear thermal solid core and gas core rocket-based atmospheric flight. A series of
analyses were undertaken to investigate resource capturing aspects of AMOSS. These analyses included the
gas capturing rate, storage options, and different methods of direct use of the captured gases. Additional
supporting analyses were conducted to illuminate vehicle sizing and orbital transportation issues. While
capturing 3He, large amounts of hydrogen and helium 4 (He-4) are produced. With these two additional
gases, the potential exists for fueling small and large fleets of additional exploration and exploitation
vehicles. Additional aerospacecraft or other aerial vehicles (UAVs, balloons, rockets, etc.) could fly through
the outer-planet atmosphere to investigate cloud formation dynamics, global weather, localized storms or
other disturbances, wind speeds, the poles, and so forth. Deep-diving aircraft (built with the strength to
withstand many atmospheres of pressure) powered by the excess hydrogen or 4He may be designed to probe
the higher density regions of the gas giants.