Interlune: Helium-3 from the moon for quantum computers on Earth
The isotope helium-3 is to be used in nuclear fusion and in quantum computers. The US company Interlune wants to mine it on the moon.
Artist's impression of an Interlune helium-3 mining vehicle: exploration mission in 2027
(Image: Interlune)
Raw materials from the moon for computers on earth: US start-up Interlune wants to mine helium-3 on the moon and transport it to earth. Despite the high price of helium-3, experts consider this to be a difficult undertaking.
Helium-3, which consists of two protons and one neutron, is considered a possible fuel for fusion reactors of the future. However, the isotope hardly occurs on Earth. It is a component of the solar wind, which does not reach the Earth's surface due to the Earth's magnetic field. However, as the moon has no magnetic field to keep the solar wind out, helium-3 has accumulated there.
Interlune wants to mine the isotope on the moon and then transport it to Earth. The company, whose management includes geologist and Apollo 17 astronaut Jack Schmitt, believes this is feasible: The price is currently stable at 20 million US dollars per kilogram, Interlune boss Rob Meyerson told the US online medium Spacenews.
Interlune wants to mine several dozen kilograms of helium-3 per year
He assumes that the company will be able to mine several dozen kilograms of helium-3 per year in the future and return it to Earth. “We think this is sustainable at the price and the quantities we can produce,” said Meyerson.
However, the focus has changed: Initially, Interlune wanted to market the isotope as fuel for nuclear fusion power plants – that was moon driver Schmitt's idea. However, interest was not so great. Meanwhile, however, there is growing demand from the computer industry: “Every quantum computer company we talk to recognizes the need and the future demand. This demand will arise in a period of three to seven years.”
Laszlo Keszthelyi, on the other hand, believes that helium-3 is less readily available than Interlune imagines. The geologist and expert on lunar resources at the Astrogeology Science Center of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In the regolith samples brought back by the Apollo missions, only low concentrations of between 2.4 and 26 parts per billion were found, he told Spacenews.com.
There are too few measurements to be able to say whether mining is worthwhile. In a USGS study led by Keszthelyi on the mining of lunar resources, helium-3 is classified as a probably unmineable resource.
One geologist is skeptical
The geologist estimates that between 100,000 and 1 million tons of regolith would have to be processed to extract one kilogram of helium-3. On Earth, this corresponds to a ratio that occurs in copper mining.
“As an authority, we want to provide reliable information and leave it to others to decide what to do with this information,” said Keszthelyi. “There are raw materials on the moon. It's a question of how you want to use them.”
Interlune is planning an exploration mission for 2027 to investigate the helium-3 concentration at the planned mining site on the lunar equator. At the start, the company only wants to extract small quantities of the raw material and bring them to Earth. Construction of a pilot plant on the moon is due to begin in 2029, which will be used to test the entire process from extraction to delivery to customers on Earth.
In the near future, humans want to fly to the moon again and establish a permanent presence there. Raw materials have to be mined for this. However, this primarily involves the extraction of water, as drinking water or, broken down into its components, as rocket fuel.
(wpl)
