Thorium
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| Th | ' |
| Thorium | |
Abundance:
Thorium, Periodic table Th, is present on Mars, however, its surface concentration seems to be lower than on Earth.[1] Thorium can be used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors on Mars, nuclear thermal propulsion and nuclear pulsed propulsion.
The average surface concentration is 0,6 ppm, or about ten times lower than Earth' average abundance of 6 ppm, with some high concentration areas of about 1 ppm [2]. See map. Martian basalts may have concentrations of 5 ppm(), similar to the basalts of Earth. Monazite (a phosphate mineral that also includes rare Earth elements) mines on Earth can have a concentration of 500ppm of Thorium. Naturally concentrated deposits would need to be found to make the use of Thorium economical on Mars in the long term, or the tailings of rare earth element[3] or other[4] mines could be utilized, which typically produce a waste stream enriched in thorium.
This page: Radioactive Rarity on Mars discusses the apparent rarity of radioactive elements on Mars.
References
- ↑ Map of Martian Thorium at Mid-Latitudes, JPL Map of Martian Thorium at Mid-Latitudes , https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA04257, March 2003.
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occurrence_of_thorium
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxwF93wnRQo
- ↑ https://www.epa.gov/radiation/tenorm-copper-mining-and-production-wastes
Bazilevskii, A. T., L. P. Moskaleva, O. S. Manvelian, and Iu A. Surkov. "Evaluation of the thorium and uranium contents of Martian surface rock-A new interpretation of Mars-5 gamma-spectroscopy measurements." Geokhimiia (1981): 10-16.
