[–] thaumasiotes 3 days ago
Any helium we have comes from underground, which is why you can see discussion of "mining" helium upthread.
[–] adrian_b 3 days ago
While it is true that helium escapes from the atmosphere, it is also produced continuously in the Earth's crust.
Thus there is an equilibrium concentration of helium in air, from generation and loss, and it is greater than for the heavier noble gases krypton and xenon, which do not escape from the atmosphere.
So there is more helium in air than krypton and xenon, which are nonetheless extracted from air, despite their low concentration. However, their extraction from air is easier than for helium, because when liquid air is evaporated the lighter and more abundant gases evaporate first and krypton and xenon remain in the small liquid residuum.
[–] BizarroLand 3 days ago
[–] thaumasiotes 2 days ago
[–] GloriousKoji 3 days ago
[–] mttch 3 days ago
[–] shagie 3 days ago
Most of the helium on the Earth is from radioactive decay.
The helium on the moon, however, is from capture from solar wind... and has a higher concentration of helium 3. https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Preparing_for_the_Futur...
[–] thaumasiotes 3 days ago
What happened here? Does the European Space Agency not have anyone who can proofread an English document? Why are they publishing in English?
It's everywhere. But extracting it is expensive and not very economical.