Space Resources Company Interlune Unveils Full-Scale Prototype of Excavator for Harvesting Helium-3 from the Moon
Washingtoner/10290898

~ Interlune, a natural resources company, and Vermeer Corporation, an industrial equipment manufacturer, have joined forces to unveil the full-scale prototype of the Interlune excavator. This groundbreaking machine is designed to ingest 100 metric tons of Moon dirt, also known as regolith, per hour and return it to the surface in a continuous motion. The immediate focus of Interlune is to harvest helium-3 from the Moon.

The partnership between Interlune and Vermeer has resulted in the development of this innovative excavator. The testing for this project was done with auxiliary components, but the final hardware will be integrated with the Interlune Harvester. A rendering of the harvester has also been released, showcasing how it will incorporate excavation hardware developed by Vermeer.

According to Rob Meyerson, co-founder and CEO of Interlune, operating equipment on the Moon requires a new level of reliability and performance standards. He believes that Vermeer's legacy of innovation and excellence makes them an ideal partner for Interlune. As part of this partnership, Vermeer CEO Jason Andringa will join Interlune's advisory board, bringing decades of experience in engineering and leadership in a global organization.

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Andringa expressed his excitement for this project by stating that Vermeer's innovation has always been about finding better ways to do important work. He also shared his personal passion for aeronautics and astronautics and how proud he is to combine it with Vermeer equipment bearing his grandfather's name to responsibly harvest resources for the betterment of our world.

Vermeer Corporation was founded by Gary Vermeer in 1948 and is now led by his grandson Jason Andringa. With over 280 products serving 10 diverse markets, their equipment helps feed and fuel communities, manage natural resources, and connect people to daily necessities around the world.

Gary Lai, co-founder and CTO of Interlune, explained that the high-rate excavation needed to harvest helium-3 from the Moon has never been attempted before, let alone with high efficiency. He praised Vermeer's response to this ambitious assignment and expressed satisfaction with the results of the test program so far.

The Interlune excavator is the first step in a four-step proprietary system for harvesting natural resources from space. This system includes Excavate, Sort, Extract, and Separate. The excavator operates continuously and its design reduces tractive force, power consumption, and dust compared to traditional trench-digging techniques. The full-size prototype was built after successfully developing and testing a sub-scale version in the summer of 2024.

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The unveiling of the excavator prototype and partnership agreement with Vermeer marks a significant milestone in developing the Interlune harvesting system. The company is actively testing other technology components, including several tests of its sorting and extraction devices in simulated lunar gravity on parabolic flights over the past year. They also develop and test their proprietary separation technology at their cryogenic lab at their Seattle headquarters.

Helium-3 is a stable isotope of helium that is extremely scarce on Earth but abundant on the Moon. With a severe shortage identified by the U.S. government around 2010, there has been a tremendous demand for this resource across several industries such as national security, quantum computing, medical imaging, and fusion energy. Interlune aims to be the first company to commercialize natural resources from space by starting with Helium-3 from the Moon, which they plan to sell to commercial and government customers.

In recent years, Interlune has received individual grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA TechFlights to advance their proprietary separation and extraction technologies. They have also received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award in 2023 for developing technology to size and sort lunar regolith. With $18 million in funding to date, Interlune is planning several missions to the Moon later this decade.

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