Former Blue Origin executives Rob Meyerson and Gary Lai have launched a new company, Interlune, to mine helium-3 on the Moon. The company, which has been in stealth mode since 2022, announced a $15 million funding round, signaling a significant step towards establishing a lunar economy. Helium-3, scarce on Earth, could be valuable for energy production. Interlune’s success hinges on developing technology to extract helium-3 from the Moon’s regolith and transport it back to Earth, as well as proving a sustainable market for the isotope. The timing coincides with NASA’s Artemis Program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and could provide necessary infrastructure support for lunar mining operations.
Read more at: arstechnica.com