Helium-3 Deal Marks First Major Purchase of Lunar Resources for Quantum Computing
While we have yet to mine on the moon, companies are already making major investments in its potential resources. Finnish tech firm Bluefors, known for making ultracold refrigerator systems crucial for quantum computing, has made a groundbreaking purchase of tens of thousands of liters of Helium-3, ... [More info]
According to the company’s plans, multiple lunar missions are scheduled this decade, backed by #contracts with #US #government agencies. In addition to #Helium3 Interlune intends to extract #RareEarths, industrial #metals, & #water from the #Moon, laying the foundation for a long-term in-#space economy.
…#Interlune is one of the 1st companies aiming to #commercialize #Helium3 resources from the #Moon. Its #harvesting #technology is described as lighter, smaller, & more energy-efficient than rival concepts, cutting costs for both transportation & lunar operation. The company is also developing Earth-based systems to separate helium-3 from terrestrial gas supplies, which it says will provide an interim source before full lunar operations begin.
The agreement marks one of the first commercial commitments to secure #Helium3 a scarce isotope on Earth but present in significant quantities on the #Moon. According to Interlune, helium-3 was deposited on the lunar surface by the solar wind & first identified in Apollo-era samples. The #UK government release on the deal described helium-3 as a critical material for #quantum #computers & one of the most valuable substances that can be transported from #space.
#Bluefors, the world’s leading maker of #cryogenic cooling systems for #quantum #technology, has signed an agreement to purchase up to 10,000 liters of #Helium3 annually from #Interlune, a #US company developing #space-based resource extraction. The deliveries are scheduled from 2028 through 2037, according to an Interlune news release.
#Moon #MoonMining #tech #law #business #QuantumComputing
https://www.interlune.space/press-release/bluefors-to-source-helium-3-from-the-moon-with-interlune-to-power-next-phase-of-quantum-industry-growth
Moon mining is getting closer to reality: Why we need global rules for extracting space resources
#MoonMining #SpaceLaw #OuterSpaceTreaty #Space #SpaceResources #LunarRegolith #InternationalLaw #SpaceExploration #Helium3 #SpaceRace #UNSpaceLaw
https://the-14.com/moon-mining-is-getting-closer-to-reality-why-we-need-global-rules-for-extracting-space-resources/
NASA's RASSOR Robot Successfully Tests the Future of Moon Mining
https://newstainmentora.blogspot.com/2025/06/nasas-rassor-robot-successfully-tests.html
#NASA #rassorrobot #nasarassorrobot #Robot #moonmining #space #moon
The #excavator will be in continuous operation and process 100 tons ⛰️ in one hour ⏱️ https://www.heise.de/en/news/Interlune-presents-excavator-for-helium-3-mining-on-the-moon-10398297.html
The two instruments on the Lunar #Trailblazer spacecraft will work in tandem to generate high-resolution maps of the moon's 🌙 #water💧. It should take between four and seven months to arrive in its final orbit https://phys.org/news/2025-02-lunar-trailblazer-blasts-moon.html
Early next month, #IM2 is targeting a touchdown at 84.6° south latitude, just 160 km from the #Moon’s 🌙 south pole. It will deploy an #ice-mining drill 🕳️ and mass spectrometer, a miniaturized rover, and a unique “hopper” craft. Its first hop will reach a height of 20 m with two additional hops aiming to reach 50 m then 100 m. On its fourth and fifth hops, it will leap in and out of a permanently shadowed region inside a 20 m-deep #crater. https://www.astronomy.com/space-exploration/intuitive-machines-preps-im-2-mission-for-moon-launch-this-week
🇨🇳 #ChangE8 📆 2028 : “Through data sharing and task delegation, the #robots 🤖 will work together like a team, achieving objectives that would be impossible for independent robots to complete” https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3296324/change-8-moon-mission-first-get-robotic-boost-chinas-private-sector
If 1 metric ton of the Moon was mined each day, there would be no Moon left in about 2,200,000,000 years.
#NASA has contracts with four companies to gather a small amount of material from the lunar 🌙 surface—as a proof of concept to show that extraction is possible.
NASA doesn’t have a similar demonstration for mining ⚒️ #asteroids. But the space rock seekers nevertheless continue their quest for treasure. They believe Earth needs, and will pay handily for, what space 🌌 has to offer. https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/05/in-the-race-for-space-metals-companies-hope-to-cash-in/
#SpaceAgencies and private companies are planning bases, scientific experiments and mining ⚒️ operations on the #moon 🌙. Whatever the #ArtemisAccords decide, Russia 🇷🇺 and China 🇨🇳 are not about to sign up.
A second effort at lunar governance is emerging at #Copuos*. Its new working group is mulling rules on the extraction of natural resources from celestial bodies https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/25/bases-experiments-mining-the-race-to-protect-the-surface-of-the-moon
Constellations of #satellites 🛰️ that provide #communications and #GPS on the #moon 🌙 could also wreck #astronomers’ plans by interfering with telescopes 📡, while heavy rovers and mining ⚒️ #robots could generate dust and vibrations https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/mar/25/scientists-call-for-protection-of-moon-sites-astronomy-telescopes
🇨🇳 A 100kg #robot 🤖 will prepare a working area on the lunar 🌙 surface and transfer the parts from the lander and assemble them. All of #China’s planned #ChangE missions will be testing technologies to pave the way for Chinese #astronauts 👨🚀 to land on the #moon before 📆 2030 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3251854/china-calls-developers-change-8-mission-make-and-assemble-moon-bricks
In 📆 2022, the #SpaceIndustry was estimated to be worth US$350 billion 💵 and is projected to grow 📈 to more than one trillion 💰 dollars over the next two decades. Actors such as #SpaceX already own a majority of the #LEO #satellites 🛰️ . In the absence of a concerted global 🌏 dialogue, individual countries are pushing ahead with their own laws. Usually, international arrangements tend to arise 🥱 when there is a real risk of #conflict. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00722-4
A single liter costs a few thousand dollars. Because there is no magnetosphere around the #Moon 🌙, it's believed there are large quantities of #helium3 gas trapped in pockets of the #lunar regolith. #Interlune is working toward the launch of a demonstrator mission in 📆 2026 that will sample the lunar regolith, measure the helium-3 quantity, and then attempt to extract some of it. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/mining-helium-3-on-the-moon-has-been-talked-about-forever-now-a-company-will-try/
📆 2023 This #SBSP study by #Astrostrom for #ESA proposes a 29,339 m2 #solar ☀️ collector at the #Lagrange point, #SolarPanels from #Lunar 🌙 materials, transported by a #SpaceElevator 🚠 from the #Moon https://nebula.esa.int/sites/default/files/neb_study/2753/C4000136309ESR.pdf
