A customer of ours, Interlune, just got a contract for any He3 they can bring back after mining it on the moon. He3 is a rare isotope of helium, used in cryogenic refrigeration, and (some) nuclear fusion reactors. It’s more common on the moon than on earth, and is expensive enough that it may make sense to mine it on the moon and bring it back. The US government has agreed to buy all of interlune’s lunar, He3 for the next ten years, ‘at the market rate.’

Our company, REB Research, comes into this because, lunar helium is found mixed with hydrogen species including HD. For prospecting, this is a problem in that He3 is easily confused with HD; they need to remove the HD to be able to determine how much He3 is in the ore. We make hydrogen extraction equipment, and were happy to supply them. It’s not a large part of our business, but we’re going to the moon because it’s ‘out there.’

Robert Buxbaum, May 29, 2025. Our site looks new; we’re moving to WordPress.