A return to the moon for NASA may be a distant goal as the organization works to find a replacement for the Space Shuttle orbiter. But some scientists and investors see private space flight as both a path to the moon and a way to alleviate energy concerns at home.

Gerald Kulcinski, a nuclear engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin, explained to CNN that there is an abundance of a rare isotope of helium on the moon–one which could provide fuel for nuclear power plants on earth. There is only a 30 kilogram supply of helium-3 on earth, and it costs $7,000 per gram.

Kulcinski says that there are around one million tons of the element on the moon and scientists know where to find it. According to Wired in 2006, scientists have tested nuclear fusion using helium-3 on a small scale, but “experts say commercial-sized fusion reactors are at least 50 years away.”

Watch the video, ‘Promise of Clean Energy, Profits on the Moon,’ and read the rest of the story, on HuffPost Green where it was originally posted.