FPI / May 16, 2025
By Richard Fisher
The United States faces major technical and political challenges in its race with China and Russia to create sustainable manned bases on the Moon.
Interlune’s concept for a future lunar extractor that can process 100 tons of lunar regolith an hour to extract profitable elements.However, it is also assuring that this is not just a geostrategic competition — as important as it is that the U.S. and is allies are able to defend their lunar interests.
It is also increasingly apparent that it is possible to benefit, even profit from the creation of manned and unmanned lunar bases, to the point that an ability to extract highly valuable lunar resources and to create new value, like manufacturing space fuels and spaceships on the Moon, may even more than pay for future lunar bases.
Profiting from a presence on the Moon is the main objective of the Seattle-based 2020 startup called Interlune, which estimates that it can sell Helium-3 from the Moon for up to $20 million a kilogram.
On its web page Interlune, describes itself as “a privately funded natural resources company committed to sustainable and responsible harvesting of natural resources from space to benefit humanity.”
It continues:
“Aiming to be the first U.S. company to commercialize resources from space, Interlune has developed patent-pending technology that harvests materials from the lunar soil, or regolith, using the smallest, most energy-efficient machinery of its kind. Ultimately, Interlune will offer these valuable resources to commercial and government customers on Earth and establish an in-space economy using the resources on the Moon and beyond.”
But now it is getting real as Interlune has a paying customer.
On May 7 the company announced on its web page that the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program (DOE IP) had reached an agreement with Interlune “to purchase three liters of helium-3 harvested from the Moon for delivery on Earth at approximately today’s commercial market price. The delivery date is no later than April 2029.”
As part of this announcement, Interlune’s CEO Rob Meyerson noted, “With this agreement, the DOE IP is signaling to companies and investors that it supports novel approaches to securing critical materials for use on Earth, including space resources.”
Helium-3 has long been identified as the most effective fuel to power future fusion energy reactors, which also have long been under development in Europe, China and the United States, that also promises to revolutionize energy access.
Full Text . . . . Current Edition . . . . Subscription Information
Interlune outlines long-term plans for Lunar profits added by Editor Two on May 16, 2025
View all posts by Editor Two →
Source link