This paper describes various methods and designs specifically proposed for mining helium-3, and summarizes the methods, results and potential implications of recent research on helium extraction from lunar regolith simulant. This paper also touches on the potential synergy of lunar propellant production with helium-3 mining and some of the ...

Interlune, a new space startup founded by former Blue Origin employees Rob Meyerson and Gary Lai, is venturing into the ambitious realm of mining helium-3 on the Moon.Helium-3, a valuable isotope crucial for nuclear fusion, has long been discussed as a potential resource due to its abundance on the lunar surface, courtesy of solar wind …

The helium-3 in the Apollo moon samples showed 20 parts per billion concentrations. At that concentration a 4.2 square mile area of the Moon would have to be mined to 10-foot depth to extract one ...

The moon's surface contains titanium, aluminium, helium-3, precious metals and rare earth elements. ... scientific experiments and mining operations on the moon. Given its size – the lunar ...

Specifically, Interlune is focused on Helium-3, a stable isotope that is scarce on Earth but plentiful on the moon and could be used as fuel in nuclear fusion reactors as well as helping power the quantum computing industry. The company, based in Seattle, has been working for about four years on the technology, which comes as the commercial ...

By harvesting helium-3, which is rare and limited in supply on Earth, Interlune could help change that calculus by deriving value from resources on the moon. But many questions about the approach ...

Strip-mining the lunar surface over hundreds of square kilometers would produce lots of helium-3, he said, but the substance is a limited resource. "It's a fossil fuel reserve.

China is going to mine the Moon for helium-3 fusion fuel. China's space program has been steadily marching towards its goals. Its recent Chang'e 3 mission was only to take spectrographic and ...

The material doesn't cost enough to even justify attempting to land on the moon. Maybe if it was million per liter. Where bringing back 10,000 liters back at a time through sending back through ...

Interlune, a stealth startup headed by ex-Blue Origin executives, is focused on mining the moon for a rare isotope of helium that could be used to scale quantum computing and eventually even ...

The Moon and Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) are increasingly gaining attention as sources of raw materials.1 They might be able to satisfy growing needs of the humans, while the limited amount of natural …

Abstract: View Video Presentation: https://doi/10.2514/6.2021-4237.vid. This paper describes various methods and designs specifically proposed for mining …

Scientists say two fully-loaded Space Shuttle cargo bay's worth of Helium-3 — about 40 tonnes worth of the gas — could power the United States for a year at the current rate of energy consumption. Professor Ouyang Ziyuan, the chief scientist of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, recently said, the moon is "so rich" in Helium-3 ...

However, Interlune isn't the only company that has eyes on the moon's helium-3 reserves. In June 2023, NASA also announced its plans to begin mining on the moon by 2032.

One of the main resources coveted by major powers and located on the Moon is helium-3, an isotope that is known since 1988 to be useful for nuclear fusion. Technological and financial barriers are slowing down hopes of using lunar soil as a resource. However, efforts remains open-ended, particularly with massive investments in …

"Helium-3 has no relevance for fusion," stresses Close to OpenMind; "Nothing has changed in the laws of physics since my 2007 article." Although the physicist believes it is possible for us to see the development of lunar mining, "there is no point in going to the Moon for helium-3 if your goal is to make fusion."

Mining the Moon. Lab experiments suggest that future fusion reactors could use helium-3 gathered from the moon. By. Mark Williams Pontin. August 23, 2007. At the 21st century's start, few would ...

Seattle-based startup Interlune recently announced that it raised $15 million in funding as part of its plan to harvest and sell natural resources from the Moon. The company wants to initially ...

The advantage of mining in space - whether its metals from the asteroids, ice from Saturn's rings, or Helium3 from the Moon - isn't to ship it back down to Earth.

His three days on the Moon and his PhD in geology, coalesced into a new mission: to encourage mining the isotope Helium-3 (3He) from Moon rock, to harness a new form of renewable energy.

Schmitt has numerous papers and books on the prospect of lunar development and helium-3 mining, and has worked closely with the group at the University of Wisconsin which is developing helium-3 fusion technologies. Yutu landed as part of the Chinese robotic lunar exploration program named Chang'e, after the mythical goddess of the Moon. Chang ...

Interlune Aims to Mine the Moon for Helium-3. The rare isotope can be used in fusion, quantum computing, medicine and more. Ned Potter. 25 Mar 2024. 4 min …

Founded by former Blue Origin executives and an Apollo astronaut, Interlune says it intends to extract Helium-3 and return it to Earth. By Christian Davenport. March 13, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. EDT. An ...

Lunar helium-3 is considered one of the potential resources for utilization as a fuel source for future Earth-based nuclear fusion plants. With a potential start-up of a commercial fusion power plant by the year 2050, the author describes technology and commercial aspects for a lunar helium-3 mining operation that could fuel such a power …

That includes water — essential for human life and a source for fuel when broken down into hydrogen and oxygen — as well as rare earth minerals and helium-3, a potential source of energy.

Unlike Earth, which is protected by its magnetic field, the Moon has been bombarded with large quantities of Helium-3 by the solar wind. It is thought that this isotope could provide safer nuclear energy in a fusion reactor, …

Olson, a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship recipient, is studying an application of in-situ resource utilization that involves mining helium-3 on …

Scientists have known that Helium-3 exists on the moon for decades; in 1986 they estimated there could be around one million tons of it stored in lunar soil. However, according to China's state ...

for the Commercial Development of Space, to study how 3He could be mined from the Moon. Researchers at WCSAR produced several mining concepts including mobile miners that excavate and process lunar regolith and in-situ volatile release and capture approaches. A. Characteristics of Solar Wind Implanted Helium

There are an estimated one million tonnes of helium-3 in the moon, ... Mining the moon for metals to build space stations and habitats is a possibility tho. Or to fuel He3 reactors on the moon. If ...