posted 03-13-2024 12:28 PM               

Space Resources Startup Interlune Raises $18 Million in Seed Capital

Founded by former Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson and Chief Architect Gary Lai, and Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison H. Schmitt

Aims to be the First Private Company to Commercialize Natural Resources from Space

Interlune, a natural resources company, emerged from stealth today, announcing that it has raised funding to further develop and operationalize technology to extract Helium-3 and other natural resources from the Moon. The funding is an essential milestone for Interlune in pursuing its mission to lead the world in sustainable, responsible harvesting and distribution of natural resources from space to benefit humanity.

Alexis Ohanian's venture firm Seven Seven Six led the most recent round of $15 million, adding to previous angel investments. Katelin Holloway, founding partner of Seven Seven Six, will join the Interlune board of directors. Other investors include Aurelia Foundry Fund, Gaingels, Liquid 2 Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and a committed group of University of Michigan alumni.

Along with Meyerson, Lai, and Schmitt, Interlune's founding team includes Indra Hornsby (Rocket Lab, BlackSky) and James Antifaev (Alphabet, Maxar). This group is highly experienced in commercial and civil space programs, startups, government programs, and the Moon.

"For the first time in history, harvesting natural resources from the Moon is technologically and economically feasible," said Meyerson. "With our uniquely experienced and qualified team, Interlune is creating the core technologies to extract and process lunar resources responsibly to serve a wide range of customers."

Interlune will initially focus on extracting and transporting lunar Helium-3 back to Earth for use by commercial and government customers in national security, quantum computing, medical imaging, and fusion energy markets. Helium-3, an isotope of Helium, is extremely scarce on Earth but abundant on the Moon. Government and industry have been looking for a new and scalable source of Helium-3 since the U.S. government recognized a severe shortage around 2010.

"There is growing demand for Helium-3 across burgeoning and potentially massive industries," said Ohanian. "We invested in Interlune because access to the ample cache of Helium-3 and other precious natural resources on the Moon and beyond will unlock or accelerate technological advancements currently hindered by lack of supply."

In time, Interlune will harvest other resources such as industrial metals, rare Earth elements, and water to support a long-term presence on the Moon and a robust in-space economy.

Holloway added, "What captivates me most is their unique position to transform decades of technological advancements into near-term reality, giving hope that my grandmother and young sons might soon witness history in their shared lifetime. Interlune's pursuit of lunar prospecting not only fuels revolutionary advancements across energy, computing, healthcare, and beyond — but also aligns with a vision I deeply share: leveraging the cosmos to sustain life on Earth, our irreplaceable home. This investment isn't just in technology; it's in our collective future."

The company's core intellectual property includes novel technologies for the excavation and processing of industrial quantities of lunar soil, or regolith, to extract Helium-3 and other resources. Its lunar harvester is smaller, lighter, and requires less power than other industry concepts, making it less expensive to transport to the Moon and operate once it's there. With this investment, Interlune will also complete the design of its first robotic lander mission to validate resource concentrations at the site it has selected for initial operation.

In October 2023, Interlune received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award to operationalize technology to size and sort lunar regolith. This award will fund prototype testing on Earth under simulated lunar conditions, and future phases will support full-scale development and demonstration on the Moon. Learn more about the NSF SBIR/STTR program here.

About Interlune

Interlune is a privately funded natural resources company committed to sustainable and responsible harvesting of natural resources from space to benefit humanity. Based in Seattle, Interlune was founded in 2020 by a team of highly experienced government and industry experts. Aiming to be the first U.S. company to commercialize resources from space, Interlune has developed patent-pending technology that extracts materials from the lunar soil, or regolith, using the smallest, most energy-efficient machinery ever conceived. Ultimately, Interlune will offer these valuable resources to commercial and government customers on Earth and establish an in-space economy using the resources on the Moon and beyond.