🌝 Interlune aims to extract helium-3 on the moon

• Interlune, started by two former employees at Blue Origin, plans to extract helium-3 from the moon's surface.
• The company has raised 15 million dollars to finance its operations.
• Helium-3 has potential for use in quantum computers and medical imaging, as well as fuel in fusion reactors.

Moonshot

Interlune, a company founded by Rob Meyerson and Gary Lai, former employees at Blue Origin, has presented its plans to extract helium-3 from the moon's surface. Their goal is to return this rare and valuable material to earth to sell it for various applications. For this, they have secured 15 million dollars in venture capital, reports Ars Technica.

To succeed, Interlune must overcome several technical challenges.

First, they need to develop a method to extract helium-3 from the lunar regolith, a difficult and energy-consuming procedure. Then, they must transport helium-3 back to earth, a process that currently lacks established methods.

Despite these challenges, the company sees a strong demand for helium-3 for use within the superconducting quantum computer industry and medical imaging, and in the longer term, also for fusion reactors.

Demo mission in 2026

Interlune plans to launch a demonstration mission in 2026 to sample and measure helium-3 in lunar regolith and attempt to extract it. Then, they want to establish a pilot facility by 2028 at the latest and begin operational returns of helium-3 to earth by 2030. Interlune is working together with NASA and potential transport partners like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

As the cost of reaching space continues to decrease, thanks to rockets that land and can be quickly reused, many more projects like this will be possible. Establishing a moon economy will make it profitable to develop projects directly targeted there, which in turn will reduce the cost of operations on the moon.

💡 Optimist’s Edge: Launching into space will be 99.9% cheaper

💡 In just a few years, launching rockets into space will become 99.9 percent cheaper than today, opening up space like never before.

Warp NewsMathias Sundin

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