The universe is about 24% helium, while the Earth only has about 0.00052% of helium! The universe and space has so much helium because of stars. When stars burn, they turn hydrogen into helium. They release this helium into the universe as the stars die. But, on Earth, there is actually a helium shortage! Most of the helium on Earth is extracted from underground pockets of decaying materials or areas where asteroids struck. There is such a low amount of helium on Earth, but there is so much in the universe, that it is considered the second most abundant (common) element in the universe!!