Interlune to Fly Multispectral Camera on Astrolab FLIP Rover to Measure Helium-3 on the Moon

SEATTLE and HAWTHORNE, Calif., Aug. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Interlune, a pure sources firm, and Astrolab, a multi-planetary mobility and logistics firm, immediately introduced that an Interlune payload will fly on Astrolab’s FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover on its upcoming mission to the Moon.

The Interlune payload is a multispectral digicam constructed, examined, and developed in partnership with NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, whose photographs shall be used to estimate helium-3 portions and focus in Moon dust, or regolith.

Interlune goals to be the primary firm to commercialize pure sources from area, beginning with harvesting helium-3 from the Moon.

“This is our first lunar mission and a seminal milestone toward being the first company to harvest natural resources from space,” mentioned Interlune cofounder and CEO, Rob Meyerson. “Astrolab’s ability to provide reliable mobility on the Moon to partners like Interlune is the quintessential example of the collaboration and innovation building the lunar economy.”

“This is exactly the kind of mission we built Astrolab for—delivering breakthrough science to the lunar surface,” mentioned Jaret Matthews, founder and CEO, Astrolab. “We’re thrilled to be carrying Interlune’s multispectral camera to the Moon, and proud to help make this kind of exploration possible.”

Founded in 2020, Astrolab is pioneering new methods to discover and function on distant planetary our bodies, specializing in designing, constructing, and working a fleet of multi-purpose business planetary rovers to increase and improve humanity’s presence within the photo voltaic system.

Current data concerning the amount and focus of helium-3 on the Moon relies on knowledge from regolith samples returned to Earth for evaluation, comparable to these collected in the course of the Apollo missions within the Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies. A big pattern was collected by Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, the Interlune cofounder and govt chairman, the one geologist to have ever visited the Moon. In addition to helium-3 (an isotope), knowledge from the samples contains measurements of the amount of ilmenite, a mineral wealthy in titanium. The evaluation revealed an in depth correlation between the quantity of helium-3 and the quantity of titanium in every pattern. The ilmenite traps the helium atoms. It was additionally correlated with the maturity of the regolith, or the size of time it had been on the floor and uncovered to the photo voltaic wind, which comprises helium-3.

Data collected with the multispectral digicam will add to this data and refine Interune’s helium-3 estimates by producing photographs that shall be used to detect titanium and regolith maturity. With these two measurements, Interlune can predict the quantity of helium-3 current with out bringing the regolith again to Earth for evaluation.

Helium-3, an isotope of helium, is extraordinarily scarce on Earth however ample on the Moon. The authorities and business have been searching for a brand new and scalable supply of helium-3 because the U.S. authorities recognized a extreme scarcity round 2010. Applications of the isotope embrace sensors for nationwide safety, cooling techniques important for quantum computing, medical imaging, and as a gasoline for fusion vitality.

Interlune plans to reveal its harvesting expertise on the Moon in a number of demonstration missions earlier than returning industrial portions of lunar helium-3 to Earth for business and authorities prospects within the 2030s. Interlune will in the end harvest different sources comparable to industrial metals, uncommon Earth components, and water to help a long-term presence on the Moon and a sturdy in-space financial system. The firm has raised $18 million up to now and has garnered help from NASA, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the U.S. Department of Energy, in addition to a number of business prospects.

On May 7, the corporate introduced its first commercial and government customers buying helium-3, in addition to a partnership with industrial equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corporation to develop novel excavation gear and expertise.

About Interlune
Interlune is a privately funded pure sources firm dedicated to sustainable and accountable harvesting of pure sources from area to profit humanity. Based in Seattle, Interlune was based in 2020 by a crew of extremely skilled authorities and business specialists. Aiming to be the primary U.S. firm to commercialize sources from area, Interlune has developed patent-pending expertise that harvests supplies from the lunar soil, or regolith, utilizing the smallest, most energy-efficient equipment of its variety. Ultimately, Interlune will provide these priceless sources to business and authorities prospects on Earth and set up an in-space financial system utilizing the sources on the Moon and past. Follow Interlune on LinkedIn, X, and Instagram.

About Astrolab
Astrolab is on a mission to maneuver humanity ahead to the subsequent horizon by designing, constructing, and working a fleet of multi-purpose rovers for all planetary floor wants. Formed by a extremely specialised crew of NASA veterans, former SpaceXers and JPL engineers, Astrolab is laser-focused on offering adaptive mobility options important for all times past Earth. The crew has business main expertise in terrestrial and planetary robotics, electrical automobiles, human spaceflight and extra. Astrolab’s depth of expertise and strategic partnerships with a wide selection of world-class establishments, together with electrical car pioneer Venturi Group, allows the supply of Lunar and Mars mobility choices at most reliability, flexibility, and price effectiveness. The firm is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. For extra data, go to astrolab.area and comply with us on X, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

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SOURCE Interlune