Angela B. Science 03.18.2024 00:Mar AM EDT

Interlune Raises $18 Million to Extract Helium-3 from the Moon

To say that there are a lot of untapped resources in space would be an understatement. We have not begun to even scratch the surface, but companies are already raising funds and making plans to make that happen, and one of them intends to start with the moon.

Interlune Mining Plans

Aiming to be the first company to commercialize natural resources from space, Interlune was founded by Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt, Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson, and Chief Architect Gary Lai.

For some time, reaching the moon much less gathering resources would've been too expensive if not impossible, and now, Meyerson claims that for the first time in history, "harvesting natural resources from the Moon is technologically and economically feasible."

While the companies plan on extracting various resources, the main focus would be on Helium-3, which is a very rare gas here on Earth. On the moon, however, there are over a million tons of it just waiting to be harvested.

Once extracted, Interlune plans to sell both commercially and to government customers in national security, quantum computing, medical imaging, and fusion energy markets, according to a blog post from the company.

Given that the resource is not only valuable but also incredibly scarce on Earth, the project could lead to billions of dollars in revenue when successful. Investor Alexis Ohanian also mentioned that there is a growing demand for Helium-3 across potentially massive industries.

So why is it plentiful on the Moon but not on Earth? The gas is created by fusion in the Sun and is carried through solar winds. Unfortunately, the Earth's magnetosphere prevents it from accumulating on Earth naturally. Such interference does not exist on the Moon.

How Valuable Is It?

Given that it has the potential a massive energy source for just a small amount, it is extremely valuable. With the rules of supply and demand, having so little of it means that it could also be quite expensive to acquire.

Some sources say that every year, only about two kilograms of it escape from the Earth's core, which is very small compared to the 1.2 million tons of Helium-3 that are ready to be extracted from the Moon, as mentioned in Interesting Engineering.

To put how powerful it is into perspective, 25 tonnes of it is enough to power the entire US for a year. Not only that, it is also a clean energy source, which makes for a good alternative to fossil fuels that are still widely used today.

Fusion Technology Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Director, Gerald Kulcinski said that Helium-3 on the Moon would be worth $4 billion per ton, which makes it the most valuable thing in space.

Even NASA is planning to mine resources from the Moon. It announced its plans to do so back in June 2023, and it will be a part of the space agency's Artemis and Gateway missions. Either way, Helium-3 could be the next big thing in alternative energy sources.