Interlune is an American space resources company developing equipment to extract helium-3 gas from lunar surface soil and ship it back to Earth. Founded in 2020 by former aerospace executives and an Apollo astronaut, the startup targets buyers that need the scarce isotope for quantum-computing cooling, security detection and medical imaging. Interlune treats the Moon as a source of an isotope to sell on Earth.
The company has signed advance purchase agreements with government and commercial buyers, including the United States Department of Energy, Maybell Quantum, and Bluefors. Interlune aims to land a pilot demonstration plant on the Moon by 2028 and scale into operational extraction by 2030. No Interlune processing hardware has operated on the lunar surface to date, and every announced delivery is a future commitment.
What Interlune Is Building and Selling
Interlune is a private commercial space firm designing extraction equipment to harvest helium-3 from lunar regolith and transport the collected gas back to buyers on Earth.
The startup focuses entirely on extracting, purifying, and returning this rare isotope rather than mining structural metals or water ice. Interlune was founded in 2020, and Engadget lists its co-founders. The founding group includes Chief Executive Officer Rob Meyerson, previously president of Blue Origin; Gary Lai, former chief architect at Blue Origin; Harrison H. Schmitt, the Apollo 17 lunar module pilot and geologist; Indra Hornsby, a former executive at Rocket Lab; and James Antifaev, who worked on Alphabet’s high-altitude balloon project Loon.
The product is meant for Earth-side buyers, with quantum computing the application the announced commercial customers name.
| Parameter | Company Specification or Public Status | Primary Source Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Company Name | Interlune | Interlune |
| Founded | 2020 | Interlune DOE announcement |
| Home Country | United States | Interlune DOE announcement |
| Key Leadership | Rob Meyerson, Gary Lai, Harrison H. Schmitt, Indra Hornsby, James Antifaev | Engadget report |
| Core Target Resource | Helium-3 isotope extracted from lunar regolith | Engadget report |
| Primary Market Applications | Quantum computing cooling, national security detectors, medical imaging, clean fusion | Interlune DOE announcement |
| Publicly Disclosed Capital | 18 million dollars total (15 million dollar latest round led by Seven Seven Six) | Engadget report |
| Government Research Grants | DOE helium-3 separation, NASA TechFlights soil processing, NSF SBIR Phase I sorting | Interlune DOE announcement |
| Announced Customers | U.S. Department of Energy, Maybell Quantum, Bluefors | Interlune and Bluefors releases (2025) |
| Targeted Flight Milestones | Pilot processing plant on the Moon by 2028; full mining operations by 2030 | Engadget report (company targets) |
| Operational Surface Status | Hardware has not yet flown or operated on the lunar surface | Interlune and Bluefors announcements (no delivery yet) |
Why Helium-3 Is Valuable on Earth and Present on the Moon
Helium-3 is an isotope of helium created in the core of the Sun and blown across the solar system by the solar wind.
Earth’s magnetosphere shields the planet from the solar wind, so helium-3 is extremely scarce on Earth. The Moon accumulates it: the isotope is trapped in lunar soil, a source first documented through NASA Apollo mission samples, according to Bluefors.
Interlune’s Department of Energy announcement lists four applications for the isotope:
- Cooling systems necessary for quantum computing.
- Weapons detection in national security.
- Medical imaging.
- Development of clean fusion energy.
The quantum-computing use is the one the announced commercial buyers share. Maybell makes dilution refrigerators that cool quantum devices to below 10 millikelvins, and Bluefors uses helium-3 in the cryogenic measurement systems that quantum computer developers depend on.
How the Lunar Harvester Is Designed to Work
Extracting volatile gases on the lunar surface requires processing large amounts of dirt directly on site, rather than launching raw soil back to Earth.
The mechanical obstacle is bulk volume. In its announcement with the U.S. Department of Energy, Interlune noted that harvesting just three liters of helium-3 gas requires processing enough lunar regolith to fill a large backyard swimming pool. That is why the company says extraction has to happen on the Moon rather than by shipping soil to Earth.
Engadget describes the operation as excavating lunar regolith, processing it, extracting the helium-3 gas and returning it to Earth. Interlune has not published a detailed hardware design beyond that outline in the sources reviewed here, so how each step will work in practice is still unproven.
Interlune has pursued technical development grants from United States agencies to refine individual stages of this process. The company secured a grant from the Department of Energy in late 2024 to mature its helium-3 separation methods. It received a NASA TechFlights award to test regolith handling mechanics, alongside a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I grant to evaluate regolith sorting systems.
For the broader picture of lunar resources, see the moon mining guide.
Announced Customers and Commercial Purchase Agreements
Interlune has announced advance supply agreements with three buyers.
The first announced customer arrived on May 7, 2025, when the U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program agreed to purchase three liters of lunar-harvested helium-3. The contract stipulates delivery to Earth no later than April 2029. Interlune stated the purchase price will align with approximately prevailing commercial market rates at the delivery date. The transaction marks the first documented agreement by the DOE Isotope Program to procure an off-planet natural resource.
The same day, Interlune announced an agreement with quantum hardware builder Maybell Quantum, naming the firm as its initial commercial customer. Maybell designs dilution refrigerators that cool quantum processors below 10 millikelvins. Under the supply terms, Maybell contracted for thousands of liters of lunar helium-3 to be delivered annually between 2029 and 2035. Specific pricing figures were not disclosed.
On September 16, 2025, cryogenic instrument supplier Bluefors entered into an advance agreement to buy up to 10,000 liters of helium-3 per year from Interlune, with deliveries scheduled to run from 2028 through 2037. Bluefors builds cryogenic measurement systems used by quantum computing development groups. Rob Blaauwgeers, founder and interim chief executive officer of Bluefors, said: “Sourcing abundant helium-3 from the Moon helps Bluefors build cooling technologies that will unlock the potential of quantum computing even further.”
| Customer Organization | Agreement Date | Contracted Volume | Scheduled Delivery Window | Disclosed Pricing Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Department of Energy Isotope Program | May 7, 2025 | 3 liters total | No later than April 2029 | Approximately today’s commercial market price |
| Maybell Quantum | May 7, 2025 | Thousands of liters annually | 2029 to 2035 | Undisclosed |
| Bluefors | September 16, 2025 | Up to 10,000 liters annually | 2028 to 2037 | Undisclosed |
None of the contracted gas has been extracted or landed on Earth as of this page’s publication. Every customer agreement is an advance commitment for future product delivery, contingent on Interlune deploying working hardware to the Moon.
Stated Timeline and Operational Risks
Interlune has laid out an ambitious development schedule, but its milestones depend on unproven commercial landing vehicles.
The company targets deploying a small-scale pilot plant to the lunar surface by 2028. If that demonstration unit successfully extracts and bottles gas, the company plans to transition to commercial-scale extraction by 2030. Interlune plans to carry its harvester on upcoming NASA-backed commercial Moon missions.
These timelines represent internal company development goals rather than verified operational schedules. Space hardware projects regularly face multi-year slips caused by engineering delays, supply chain shortages, and launch vehicle integration challenges.
Where Interlune Sits in the Space Resources Sector
Interlune occupies a unique position in the commercial space mining landscape, pursuing an export-to-Earth model rather than an in-space propellant model.
Much of the lunar resource discussion centers on polar water ice for propellant, as the moon mining guide describes. The lunar economy guide covers how local propellant generation could cut the fuel that must be lifted from Earth.
Like the deep-space metal prospectors, Interlune aims to sell a resource on Earth. Ventures such as the companies profiled in the asteroid mining companies plan to capture high-value platinum-group metals from near-Earth objects. Commercial startup AstroForge is building spacecraft to reach metallic asteroids, as covered in the AstroForge guide. The difference is location: Interlune targets the Moon and would extract gas from regolith rather than recover metal from a rock.
Interlune’s funding model reflects early-stage venture backing rather than public capital markets. Engadget reported that Interlune had raised 18 million dollars in total, including a 15 million dollar latest round led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture firm Seven Seven Six.
Interlune appears not to be publicly traded on any securities exchange based on public disclosures. The company operates as a privately held entity funded by venture capital and federal research grants. Investors tracking space resource development can review the space mining stocks for active public tickers, and consult official corporate announcements to verify any future changes in Interlune’s corporate structure. For a comprehensive look at the financial rules governing resource ventures across the solar system, see the space mining.
To verify current funding details, flight partnership announcements, and open technical roles, visit Interlune’s official portal before assessing the company’s operational trajectory.