Interlune announced its intention to mine the moon for helium-3 and other resources as early as 2026|interlunespace|Instagram
The moon has received increased attention over the past year, with several space agencies, including NASA, aiming to land on it again. One private venture wants to go a step further and mine the Earth’s natural satellite for helium-3.
Why?
Stable isotope helium-3 is rare on Earth, but the moon has lots of it. It is a highly desired gas since it has applications in nuclear fusion reactors and quantum computing. The non-radioactive nature of the element makes it a clean source of energy.
Interlune, a private space venture, has announced its intention to mine the moon for the isotope and other resources as early as 2026 and commence full-scale operations by 2030.
Founded by former executives from Blue Origin (Jeff Bezos’s space exploration firm) and an Apollo astronaut, the company has already raised $18 million. It plans to develop technology for lunar resource extraction.
It isn’t the only company
Blue Origin has already developed technology that can turn moon dust into solar cells and transmission wires.
China is steadfast in the race to mine the moon, especially for water and helium-3.
But landing on the moon itself has been difficult. Two of the recent unmanned US spacecraft missions, aiming to make a lunar soft landing and collect data, failed.
Nevertheless, Interlune’s venture reflects the increasing interest in the space sector due to successful endeavors by companies like SpaceX.
To note, American companies own the right to the resources they mine from celestial bodies.