US company aims to tap into moon's Helium-3 supply targeting rare isotope for future use  

Interlune, a Seattle-based company founded by former Blue Origin technologists, is targeting the moon’s Helium-3 supply — a rare heavy isotope deposited into the lunar regolith by solar wind.

It was first discovered in samples collected during NASA's Apollo missions. However, recent astrogeological studies highlight the considerable technological and logistical difficulties involved in extracting this scarce isotope, Caliber.Az reports via foreign website covering the business and politics of the space industry.

A US Geological Survey (USGS) astrogeologist explained that obtaining the amount of Helium-3 that Interlune aims for would necessitate processing millions of tons of lunar regolith, a task comparable to running a copper mine on Earth. 

Interlune CEO Rob Meyerson shared with SpaceNews that, despite initial doubts from even the company’s founders, they have identified potential applications for Helium-3 that make the project worthwhile. 

The company is now focused on creating and implementing a harvesting system "similar to a terrestrial agricultural operation," using five harvesters roughly the size of large sport utility vehicles.

Meyerson acknowledged that it would take several years before the venture generates a financial return. 

“Helium-3 has been bombarding the surface of the moon for billions of years,” Meyerson said. 

“Over geologic time, meteorite impacts on the lunar surface have stirred up the fluffy regolith, with Helium-3 being distributed down to 3 meters [10 feet] in depth. That’s the depth that Jack Schmitt and two other crews got,” he said. 

Schmitt, a geologist and Apollo 17 astronaut, serves as the executive chairman of Interlune, a company established in 2020 to harvest lunar resources. 

According to Meyerson, Helium-3 is currently valued at approximately $20 million per kilogram. Interlune is primarily focused on extracting Helium-3 for applications in superconducting quantum computing, where it is used to cool devices to near absolute zero temperatures.

"Quantum computing is the key demand generator for us," Meyerson stated. 

He also noted that Helium-3 has the potential to power nuclear fusion reactors on Earth — an application Schmitt has advocated for in the past, although investors have shown more interest in faster-return projects like quantum computing.

By Naila Huseynova