Mining helium-3 on the Moon has been talked about forever—now a company will try

Enlarge / That's no spice harvester. It's an extractor pulling helium-3 from the lunar surface. (credit: Interlune)

Two of Blue Origin's earliest employees, former President Rob Meyerson and Chief Architect Gary Lai, have started a company that seeks to extract helium-3 from the lunar surface, return it to Earth, and sell it for applications here.

The company has been operating in stealth since its founding in 2022, but it emerged on Wednesday by announcing it has raised $15 million, adding to previous rounds of angel investments.

This is a notable announcement because, while the funding is small, the implications are potentially large. Lately, there has been a lot of discussion of a 'lunar economy' in spaceflight but precious little clarity on what that means. Most firms that have announced business plans to launch rockets to the Moon, land on the Moon, or perform other activities there have been doing so with the intent of selling services or lunar water to NASA or other parties fulfilling government contracts. Put another way, there has been no wealth creation, and ultimately, NASA is the customer.