Interlune wants to mine Helium-3 on the moon by 2030 - it's a potential fuel for nuclear fusion

Among the founders of the company are former employees of Blue Origin and an astronaut from the Apollo 17 mission.

Interlune plans to become the first company to extract natural resources on the Moon and sell them on Earth. Initially, the startup will focus on Helium-3 - a helium isotope that is formed by thermonuclear fusion on the Sun.

In an interview with Ars Technica, one of the founders of Interlune and former president of Blue Origin, Rob Meyerson, said that the company hopes to launch its installation on one of the future commercial missions to the Moon with the support of NASA. The plans are for this to happen as early as 2028, with full operations starting by 2030.

This week, Interlune announced that it has raised $18 million - with $15 million in the last round led by Seven Seven Six (a venture company co-founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian).

Helium-3 - the resource targeted by Interlune - can be used on Earth for quantum computing, medical imaging, and potentially as fuel for fusion reactors. Helium-3 is transported to the Moon by the solar wind, while Earth's magnetosphere deflects this flow of particles. On our planet, it exists in very limited quantities (as a result of nuclear weapons tests, nuclear reactors, and radioactive decay), and the cost per liter reaches thousands of dollars.

Interlune also plans a mission with a separate module that will assess the concentrations of helium-3 in selected areas.