Would mining helium 3 from the moon eventually make the moon lighter and cause it to be pulled into the earth?

Question

Would mining helium 3 from the moon eventually make the moon lighter and cause it to be pulled into the earth?

Answer 1

no.

i think your knowledge of physics could use some work.

Answer 2

yes,but its more like it will float away,thats why mexican scientists are working on a long string to tie to the moon to hold it from flying away.......

Answer 3

No;  we could never gleen enough mass off the moon to cause this effect.  (In fact, the moon is currently moving away from Earth about an inch a year.)

Answer 4

No.  Firstly, there isn't any significant amount of helium 3, or 4, or any other gas on the moon.  Secondly, removing mass of any sort from the moon will not change its orbit in any way.

Answer 5

No.  First of all, it would be very difficult to remove a significant amount of material from the moon.  We don't need very much helium 3 for power generation; just a few tons maybe.  You'd have to remove trillions of tons of material from the moon to even make the slightest hair of a difference compared to its mass.  

Second, smaller objects in space orbit around earth at a velocity that is proportional to their distance from earth and earth's mass.  changing the mass of the object does not make it "fall into earth" or "fly into space".  Just look at an astronaut on a space walk.  If this were not the case, an astronaut, who has much different mass than the space station, would just fly off if he let go.  Doesn't happen; they orbit together.

Actually, the Earth orbits slightly around the moon, giving the Earth a slight wobble around a point offset from its center of mass.  This point would move slightly if you changed the mass of the moon.  If you changed the mass of the earth, that would affect the orbital distance of the moon.  You will never, I repeat never, be able to do anything that will significantly change the mass of the earth to make this phenomenon observable.  There's just too much mass on the Earth and not enough energy to move it somewhere else.  Same with the moon or any other planet.