Lunar Helium-3 Mining Plans Advance as Demand for Scarce Isotope Grows

Companies are developing technology to extract helium-3 from the moon, a rare isotope used in quantum computing and nuclear fusion.

• Interlune plans to integrate its mining equipment into a lunar lander as early as autumn 2027, co-founder and CEO Rob Meyerson said.
• A Helsinki-based quantum computing company has signed a $300m deal with Interlune for 10,000 litres of helium-3 annually from 2028 to 2037.
• Pulsar Helium is investigating the presence of helium-3 at a site in Minnesota, where concentrations are around 12 parts per billion, geochemist Peter Barry said.
• Astrotech Corporation announced its intention to extract helium-3 from lunar regolith using a SpaceX Starship rocket, CEO Tom Pickens said.