Interlune, a startup created by former Blue Origin employees, is raising $15.5 million to create and implement equipment for the extraction of lunar helium-3 (He-3).
During a closed presentation, the company said it had developed a “revolutionary method for extracting” He-3 from lunar soil. For this startup, excavators are being manufactured that will autonomously extract helium-3. However, it is not explained in any way how this material will be stored and delivered to Earth.
Interlune’s CEO is Rob Meyerson, former president of Blue Origin. The startup team also includes the former chief architect of Blue Origin and employees of Rocket Lab, BlackSky and Spaceflight Industries. The startup was founded three years ago, but only now has it become known what it does.
Currently, helium-3 is not produced from sources. It can only be obtained through the decay of artificially produced tritium.
The Moon has large reserves of helium-3, which are located in the upper layer of soil. The concept of mining helium-3 on the Moon is not new, but it was previously considered something out of science fiction.
On Earth, helium-3 can be used to cool quantum computers and as fuel for fusion reactors.
Interlune’s plan is to reach the Moon with helium-3 in 2026, with the first excavator expected to be operational in 2028. If all goes according to plan, the company could hit $500 million in annual revenue by early next year. [TechCrunch]
Source: Iphones RU
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