Mining the Moon’s Helium-3: The Key to a Quantum Computing and Energy Revolution

Lunar Helium-3 is an extremely rare isotope on Earth but is thought to exist in abundance on the Moon’s surface, deposited over billions of years by the solar wind interlune.space washingtonpost.com.
Helium-3 is prized for its use in cutting-edge tech: it’s needed to reach ultra-cold temperatures for quantum computer cooling, it enhances certain medical imaging and security systems, and it could serve as a clean fuel for future fusion reactors interlune.space sciencefocus.com.
Quantum computing demand is driving a Helium-3 rush: Each large-scale quantum computer may require thousands of liters of Helium-3 for its cryogenic cooling, far more than Earth’s current annual supply (only ~22–30k liters from nuclear stockpiles) washingtonpost.com. Companies like Bluefors (a leader in quantum refrigeration) have inked deals to secure Moon-mined Helium-3 for the coming “quantum boom” autoevolution.com thequantuminsider.com.
A startup called Interlune is pioneering lunar Helium-3 mining: It’s developing a small, lightweight lunar excavator to process 100+ tons of moon dust per hour, extracting Helium-3 on-site. Interlune has already sold ahead to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and quantum tech firms, marking the first-ever commercial agreements for off-world resources autoevolution.com autoevolution.com.
Mining Helium-3 on the Moon won’t be easy: The isotope’s concentration in lunar soil is measured in parts per billion, meaning huge volumes of regolith must be mined and heated to release just a few liters of gas interlune.space washingtonpost.com. Engineering challenges include operating heavy equipment in low gravity, abrasive lunar dust, extreme temperatures, and refining the gas without human oversight on the Moon.
Space agencies and companies are joining forces: NASA is collaborating with firms like Astrolab and Interlune to survey lunar Helium-3 and develop mining tech autoevolution.com geekwire.com. China has also expressed intent to harness lunar Helium-3 for energy, and international agreements like the Artemis Accords seek to clarify how lunar mining will be handled. A new space race for resource rights may be on the horizon asiatimes.com asiatimes.com.
Geopolitics and tech competition collide: Whoever controls Helium-3 supply could gain an edge in quantum computing and future fusion energy. The scenario is often compared to rare earth metals—where one country (China) today controls ~90% of global supply mining.com—raising concerns that lunar resources might similarly become leverage in Earthly power struggles.
Recent breakthroughs signal momentum: In 2025, the DOE agreed to buy 3 liters of lunar Helium-3 (the first government purchase of an extraterrestrial resource in history) interlune.space. Quantum firms secured long-term Helium-3 contracts starting 2028, and a rover mission is scheduled to map Helium-3 on the Moon by year’s end autoevolution.com geekwire.com. With NASA’s Artemis program and other lunar missions underway, the dream of mining the Moon for Helium-3 is quickly moving from science fiction toward reality.

What Is Helium-3 and Why Is It So Important?

Infographic: Helium-3 is continually generated by fusion reactions in the Sun and carried by the solar wind. The Moon, lacking a magnetic field, has absorbed this isotope for billions of years, whereas Earth’s magnetic field shields us from most Helium-3 interlune.space.

Helium-3 (He-3) is a lightweight, non-radioactive isotope of helium with two protons and one neutron (regular helium-4 has two neutrons). On Earth it is extremely scarce – mostly a byproduct from the decay of tritium in nuclear weapons and reactors sciencefocus.com. In total, only a few dozen kilograms are produced worldwide each year sciencefocus.com, making it one of the most expensive substances known (currently valued around $2,000–$15,000 per liter, or up to ~$150,000 per gram) thequantuminsider.com. By contrast, the Moon’s soil has been soaking up Helium-3 from the solar wind for eons; scientists estimate there could be over 1 million metric tons of Helium-3 embedded in the lunar regolith washingtonpost.com (though spread in very low concentrations).

Why all the fuss over this rare isotope? Helium-3 has unique properties that make it invaluable for several advanced technologies. It’s a superb neutron absorber, so it’s used in radiation detectors and national security scanners that sniff out smuggled nuclear materials interlune.space. It can be hyper-polarized for certain medical imaging applications, improving MRI scans of lungs and other tissues interlune.space. Perhaps most tantalizing is its potential as a nuclear fusion fuel. Unlike the deuterium-tritium (D-T) fusion reaction (which emits damaging neutrons), fusing Helium-3 with deuterium or with itself could produce enormous energy with minimal radioactive waste. Scientists have noted that just 40 tons of Helium-3 (about two Space Shuttle payloads) could power the entire United States for a year if used in fusion reactors asiatimes.com. No wonder some have dubbed Helium-3 “moon gold.”

“It’s the only resource in the universe that’s priced high enough to warrant going out to space today and bringing it back to Earth,” said Rob Meyerson, co-founder and CEO of Interlune, emphasizing Helium-3’s extraordinary value washingtonpost.com.

Above all, Helium-3 has become a linchpin for quantum technology. Modern quantum computers require extreme cold to operate their qubits (quantum bits) without errors. By using Helium-3 in special dilution refrigerators, engineers can routinely reach temperatures of a mere 0.01 Kelvin (around –272°C or –458°F) – just a hair above absolute zero autoevolution.com. At these temperatures, quantum processors based on superconducting circuits or certain atomic states can function with stability and coherence. In short, Helium-3 enables the “quantum chill” that makes the whole field of quantum computing possible.

Helium-3 in Quantum Computing and Energy Applications

Helium-3’s role in quantum computing is fundamental yet behind-the-scenes. Companies like IBM, Google, and Intel have built prototype quantum computers with tens or hundreds of qubits, and the vast majority of these machines rely on Helium-3-based dilution refrigerators to keep those qubits cold enough to behave quantum-mechanically interlune.space. A dilution refrigerator uses a mixture of Helium-3 and Helium-4 isotopes; by pumping the Helium-3 through various stages and exploiting quantum physics of superfluid liquids, it can cool its interior to millikelvin temperatures. “It’s like 200 times colder inside a Bluefors fridge than outer space, which is pretty amazing,” explained Ingela Waismaa of Bluefors, a leading cryogenics company washingtonpost.com. Bluefors has deployed over 1,500 such refrigerators worldwide, supporting quantum labs, universities, and companies interlune.space. Each fridge can consume dozens of liters of Helium-3 for its initial fill and ongoing operation. As quantum computers scale up toward thousands or millions of qubits, their cooling systems will demand even more Helium-3.

“Interlune will provide the huge amounts of helium-3 that the quantum industry needs in the coming years to drive innovation, commercialisation, and progress forward,” said Rob Blaauwgeers, founder and CEO of Bluefors, whose company just inked a major deal to source lunar Helium-3 interlune.space. “Sourcing abundant Helium-3 from the Moon helps Bluefors build cooling technologies that will unlock the potential of quantum computing even further.”

This rising demand in the quantum sector has exposed a serious supply problem. Presently, the only significant source of Helium-3 is the decay of tritium (hydrogen-3) gas, a substance produced in nuclear reactors and maintained in warheads. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program distributes a few thousand liters per year from tritium stockpiles washingtonpost.com, but this is barely enough for existing needs, let alone a future with quantum data centers. “They will need more Helium-3 than is available on planet Earth,” warned Gary Lai, Interlune’s CTO, noting that a single large quantum computing facility might eventually require “thousands of liters of Helium-3 per quantum computer” – an amount that dwarfs current supply washingtonpost.com. This looming shortage is a key reason Helium-3 extraction from the Moon is garnering serious attention (and investment) from tech companies and governments alike thequantuminsider.com washingtonpost.com.

While quantum computing provides the immediate commercial driver, Helium-3’s energy potential is equally compelling in the long term. In theory, Helium-3 could be used in fusion reactors to generate clean, almost limitless power. A fusion reaction using Helium-3 and deuterium produces charged particles (protons) and energy, but no neutrons – meaning no long-lived radioactive waste and no risk of reactor materials becoming highly radioactive. This aneutronic fusion has been the holy grail for fusion researchers like Dr. Gerald Kulcinski and others since the 1980s thespacereview.com. To put it in perspective: just 8 tons of Helium-3 could yield as much energy as a billion tons of coal spacesafetymagazine.com, without the pollution. Chinese scientists have been particularly vocal about this promise; Professor Ouyang Ziyuan, a chief scientist of China’s lunar program, said the Moon is “so rich” in Helium-3 that it could “solve humanity’s energy demand for around 10,000 years at least” asiatimes.com. Such statements, while optimistic, underscore why Helium-3 is often cited as a strategic resource that could revolutionize energy production if harnessed.

It’s important to note that fusion reactors capable of using Helium-3 don’t exist yet – most fusion efforts (like ITER or private ventures) currently focus on more achievable D-T fusion. However, some startups are pushing novel approaches: for instance, Helion Energy (in the U.S.) is working on a pulsed fusion system that aims to fuse deuterium straight to Helium-3 and directly convert the energy to electricity geekwire.com. Helion has even secured a commercial contract to supply fusion power to Microsoft by 2028, betting on its own technology. If companies like Helion succeed, a steady supply of Helium-3 fuel would be highly desirable. Even government space agencies eye Helium-3 as a potential fuel for future generations of fusion power plants or deep-space rockets. All of this puts Helium-3 at the intersection of tomorrow’s computing needs and tomorrow’s energy hopes – a rare position for a single material.

The Challenges of Mining Helium-3 on the Moon

Mining Helium-3 from lunar soil is a formidable scientific and engineering challenge. Although the Moon likely contains vast quantities of Helium-3 in total, the isotope is not lumped in convenient veins or reservoirs – it’s scattered throughout the top layer of regolith (moon dust) at concentrations often measured in parts per billion americanscientist.org. Apollo rock samples showed as little as 4–20 ppb by mass in many areas researchgate.net. In practical terms, mining Helium-3 is like extracting a needle from a haystack: you have to process astronomical amounts of dirt to accumulate useful volumes of the gas. One estimate from the U.S. Geological Survey bluntly labeled lunar Helium-3 an “inferred unrecoverable resource”, given the unknowns and low concentrations, stating that feasible recovery within 30 years was “unknown” washingtonpost.com.

What would a Helium-3 mining operation entail? Experts outline a multi-step industrial process on the lunar surface washingtonpost.com:

Excavate the Regolith: A robotic miner would scrape and dig up the topsoil. Only the upper few meters contain Helium-3 (deeper layers haven’t been exposed to solar wind). Interlune’s proposed harvester, for example, is designed to dig 100 metric tons of lunar dirt per hour autoevolution.com.
Crush and Heat the Soil: The collected regolith is fine like powder. By agitating and heating it (roughly to 600–700°C), gases trapped in tiny glass grains and bubbles are released – “like popping bubble wrap,” as one description put it washingtonpost.com. This bake-out process frees not just Helium-3 but also other volatiles (like Helium-4, hydrogen, and water vapor).
Separate Helium-3 from Other Gases: The outgassed vapor is a mix. Helium-3 must be separated from the far more common Helium-4 and any other constituents. This might be done via cryogenic distillation or special membranes. Interlune has demonstrated on Earth that they can separate Helium-3 from a Helium-4/Helium-3 mixture – a crucial proof-of-concept achieved likely for the first time washingtonpost.com.
Store and Ship the Helium-3: The purified Helium-3 would be gathered into high-pressure containers, ready for transport to Earth. Meanwhile, the processed regolith (now devoid of gas) would be dumped back onto the lunar surface. Unlike terrestrial mining, there’s no toxic tailings or chemical slurry – just slightly “tilled” moon dust returned to where it came from washingtonpost.com.

Each of these steps faces engineering hurdles. Lunar regolith is abrasive and clingy (electrostatically charged); it’s been known to foul equipment and spacesuits during Apollo. Operating machinery in vacuum and one-sixth Earth gravity is uncharted territory – lubricants evaporate in vacuum, and fine dust can clog gears. Any mining system must be teleoperated or autonomous, since real-time control from Earth is impractical with the 1.3-second communication delay and no on-site crew initially. Power is another issue: heating regolith to high temperatures will require substantial energy, likely provided by solar concentrators or small nuclear reactors on the Moon. And the scale of operations needed is immense. To extract just 3 liters of Helium-3 (about 0.5 grams), “Interlune will have to process enough lunar regolith to fill a large backyard swimming pool,” the company’s CEO notes interlune.space. That amount of dirt – on the order of hundreds of tons – is far too much to ship to Earth, so it must be handled on the Moon itself interlune.space.

Interlune’s approach to these challenges has been to design the lightest, smallest mining system possible that can still do the job. The company partnered with heavy equipment maker Vermeer to build a prototype excavator, and they’ve tested sub-scale versions of the soil handling in labs and even on parabolic flights (to simulate lunar gravity) washingtonpost.com. The current concept is essentially a mobile, continuous miner that scoops up regolith, heats it internally, and spits the used soil back out as it roams – leaving behind shallow plowed strips rather than giant craters washingtonpost.com. The entire harvester is intended to be compact enough to fit on a single lunar lander and energy-efficient enough to run on limited power interlune.space interlune.space. Interlune claims their harvester will be smaller and lighter than other concepts, which would cut down launch costs and operating complexity interlune.space.

Despite the technical headway, skepticism remains. A 2022 USGS report, as noted, questioned whether Helium-3 mining is viable in the near future washingtonpost.com. Some experts argue that other lunar resources (like water ice for rocket fuel) make more economic sense than Helium-3, at least until fusion technology matures. There’s also the matter of cost: even at $10,000+ per liter, would Helium-3 from the Moon be cheaper than producing it via nuclear reactions on Earth? Interlune’s CEO Rob Meyerson acknowledges it’s a bold endeavor, essentially a race to be first: “the company will have to fly its excavator to the Moon in the next couple of years, prove it works, and start earning money”, he says of their 2027 delivery target autoevolution.com. The initial pilot plant on the Moon would likely just break even (with government support) to prove the concept. But if successful, subsequent scaling could bring economies of scale and perhaps make lunar Helium-3 a cost-effective commodity by the 2030s.

Space Agencies and Private Companies in the Helium-3 Hunt

The quest for lunar Helium-3 is no longer just science fiction – it’s now a multi-player effort involving both national space agencies and agile private startups. A flurry of partnerships in recent years shows how public and private sectors are collaborating to kickstart this extraterrestrial supply chain.

On the government side, NASA’s Artemis program has renewed global interest in the Moon. While NASA’s immediate goals focus on returning astronauts and mining water ice at the lunar south pole, the agency has openly supported technologies that could extract other resources like metals or gases from the Moon. In fact, NASA helped fund some of Interlune’s early work: the company received a NASA “TechFlights” grant to develop its soil processing tech, and a National Science Foundation SBIR award to refine its regolith sorting method interlune.space. NASA’s Ames Research Center also partnered with Interlune on developing a multispectral Helium-3 camera – a specialized sensor that can remotely detect Helium-3 content in lunar soil by analyzing reflected light autoevolution.com. This camera is scheduled to fly in late 2025 on a rover built by Astrolab (a California-based space robotics company). The Astrolab rover, named FLEX, will piggyback on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander to the Moon’s surface as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program geekwire.com. Once on the Moon, Interlune’s camera will scan the regolith to map Helium-3 “hotspots” – a crucial first step in figuring out where to mine.

Other national agencies are not far behind. China has been explicit about its interest in Helium-3. The Chinese lunar exploration program (Chang’e) has already returned samples from the Moon (the Chang’e-5 mission in 2020 brought back 1.7 kg of soil), and Chinese scientists are studying those samples’ Helium-3 content and extraction properties asiatimes.com asiatimes.com. China and Russia had announced plans for a joint International Lunar Research Station by the 2030s, which could include resource utilization experiments – likely spurred in part by Helium-3 and other materials. Although geopolitical tensions have since complicated partnerships, China continues to pursue an ambitious lunar agenda, including Chang’e-8 later this decade which is expected to test ISRU (in-situ resource utilization) technologies on the Moon’s surface. The European Space Agency (ESA) has also funded studies on Helium-3 mining and even tested prototype extraction methods (like melting regolith in a solar furnace) as far back as the 2000s esa.int. India’s recent Chandrayaan-3 landing at the lunar south pole (in 2023) and the presence of other players like Japan and Israel in lunar exploration indicate a broadening field, where each may have an eye on future resource rights.

In the private sector, a number of startups and established companies are positioning themselves for the Helium-3 opportunity. Interlune, based in Seattle, is at the forefront with its dedicated Helium-3 harvester development. It emerged from stealth in 2023–2024 with $18 million in seed funding and has since been on a tear signing up customers and partners geekwire.com. We’ve already discussed Bluefors (the Finnish company buying 10,000 liters per year) and Maybell Quantum (a quantum infrastructure startup planning to buy Helium-3 from 2029 onward) autoevolution.com. Another early customer is the U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program, which agreed to purchase 3 liters by 2029 as a strategic move to encourage space-based isotope supply interlune.space. This DOE deal, announced in mid-2025, is historic – it’s the first-ever government purchase of an extraterrestrial natural resource interlune.space. The DOE’s involvement also underscores Helium-3’s importance, as that agency oversees critical isotopes for science, medicine, and security; by securing a new Helium-3 source, DOE hopes to alleviate a chronic supply crunch that has troubled researchers since around 2010 interlune.space.

Other companies around the world are also venturing into this space. For instance, Astrobotic (US) and Intuitive Machines (US) are building commercial lunar landers – their primary missions are delivering NASA and commercial payloads, but in the future they could transport mining equipment or return capsules of Helium-3 to Earth. Ispace (a Japanese startup) has plans for lunar resource utilization and attempted a landing in 2023 (though it ended in a crash). A Polish company, Solar System Resources, even signed an eyebrow-raising memorandum in 2021 to supply 500 kg of lunar Helium-3 to a US nuclear company by the 2030s asiatimes.com. While that deal is speculative, it signals how even smaller players are staking claims in advance. Traditional aerospace giants like Lockheed Martin and Blue Origin have shown interest in lunar infrastructure too. Notably, Interlune’s CEO Rob Meyerson is a former president of Blue Origin, and he has leveraged his space industry connections (and likely Blue Origin’s technical insights) to push Interlune forward washingtonpost.com. Blue Origin and SpaceX have both talked about enabling a “cislunar economy,” and if mining Helium-3 becomes viable, you can expect they’ll want a role in the transportation or utilization aspects (imagine SpaceX Starship rockets ferrying Helium-3 canisters to Earth in bulk).

All these efforts are taking place amid a nascent framework of laws and agreements governing space mining. The 1967 Outer Space Treaty forbids nations from claiming sovereignty over lunar territory, but it did not clearly forbid resource extraction. The United States passed a law in 2015 explicitly allowing US companies to mine space resources and keep the profits, as long as no sovereignty is claimed. Building on that, in 2020 the Artemis Accords — a U.S.-led international pact — set principles for responsible exploration, including that resource extraction is permissible and that nations can create “safety zones” to avoid interference around their lunar operations anzsilperspective.com hir.harvard.edu. Over two dozen countries have signed the Accords, but notably China and Russia have not, viewing it as an American-led regime. Instead, they have talked about developing their own rules, possibly through the UN. This hints at a potential regulatory patchwork in the future: if multiple entities start mining the Moon, disputes could arise over the best areas (for example, regions with higher Helium-3 concentrations or other critical materials).

In short, a coalition of stakeholders – from NASA to startups to international partners – is coalescing to turn lunar Helium-3 from a wild idea into reality. Their motivations vary (scientific curiosity, commercial profit, national interest), but they converge on a common goal: prove that we can harvest and utilize resources from off-world. If they succeed, it could kick off a new era of space industry, with the Moon as a hub for materials that benefit Earth.

Geopolitical Implications of Lunar Resource Harvesting

The prospect of harvesting Helium-3 and other lunar resources has already begun to echo the great power rivalries of the past – drawing comparisons to a 21st-century space race, this time for economic and strategic advantage. “Who will be the first to mine Helium-3 in significant quantities?” is not just a scientific question, but a geopolitical one. The nation or company that first masters lunar mining could gain a unique bargaining chip: control over a supply of fuel and materials that might drive the next revolutions in energy and computing.

Observers note a dynamic similar to the competition for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) on Earth. Today, China controls roughly 90% of the world’s rare earth supply mining.com, which has caused concern in the U.S., Europe, and Japan since REEs are critical for electronics, electric vehicles, and defense systems. A monopoly or stronghold on a critical resource allows the holder to wield influence – for example, by restricting exports, as China has done with rare earths to gain political leverage mining.com. If Helium-3 becomes as crucial to the global economy as oil or REEs, countries will not want to be dependent on a rival power for supply. This is one reason the U.S. and its allies are keen to establish a presence in lunar resource extraction early, rather than cede that ground.

On the flip side, China’s lunar ambitions are often viewed through a geopolitical lens. Chinese officials and scientists frequently mention Helium-3 in justifying their Moon program. The idea that China could mine the Moon to become an energy superpower is a point of national pride (and international apprehension). A former CIA space analyst, Tim Chrisman, warned in 2021, “China will almost certainly use any resources it is able to acquire to the detriment of its adversaries, competitors and bystanders alike.” asiatimes.com He and others see China’s tightly integrated civil-military space strategy as an upfront advantage in this new race, enabling it to mobilize quickly and with purpose asiatimes.com. If China and the U.S. both prioritize Helium-3, we could witness a scenario reminiscent of the Sputnik era – a symbolic “first to mine” achievement akin to the first satellite or first Moon landing. “Getting there first may be more like launching the first satellite… It would be a big political and diplomatic win,” Chrisman noted regarding Helium-3 mining asiatimes.com. Such a win could boost a country’s prestige and influence international norms for space resource use in its favor.

There’s also the question of how other countries react. For instance, Russia, once a space superpower, has its own plans (Luna missions and an alliance with China) but has struggled with recent setbacks (the Luna-25 lander crash in 2023). If the U.S. and China carve up lunar resource zones via alliances (Artemis Accords partners vs. a China/Russia bloc), middle powers like India, Japan, or the EU might be pulled into one camp or the other, or attempt a non-aligned approach. The United Nations has so far only begun to discuss space mining in fora like UNCOPUOS (UN Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space). Some advocates call for an international lunar resource treaty to prevent conflict and ensure sharing of benefits (analogous to how seabed mining or Antarctic resources are handled). However, efforts like the 1979 Moon Agreement, which aimed to declare lunar resources the “common heritage of mankind,” failed to gain traction – major spacefaring nations didn’t sign it. Now, with real money on the table, geopolitical tensions could increase if one nation appears to be monopolizing a valuable lunar region or if, say, a Chinese mining site and an American mining site ended up too close for comfort on the Moon.

Another aspect is economic and security implications. If lunar Helium-3 can fuel fusion reactors, it might drastically reduce global reliance on fossil fuels, potentially upsetting petrostates’ economies. If it supercharges quantum computing, it could give the holders an edge in fields like codebreaking, AI, and advanced research. There are also military angles: a country with a strong foothold on the Moon might be able to deny others access or even use the Moon as a base for strategic Earth observation or other operations (though weaponizing space is banned in part by treaties). These broader implications mean that discussions of Helium-3 often go hand-in-hand with conversations about strategic stability and space security.

For now, it’s important not to overhype – no nation is currently powering its grid with moon helium, and the first grams of lunar Helium-3 have yet to be mined. But the geopolitical narrative is already in motion. We’ve seen U.S. officials highlight the importance of “maintaining leadership in space” to ensure resources are used “consistent with free markets and democracy.” Chinese state media frequently touts their lunar program as securing China’s future energy needs. The stage is set such that the first successes in Helium-3 extraction will likely be hailed as national triumphs, and could spur others to accelerate their own programs. In the best case, this competition stays peaceful and leads to a new era of cooperation (perhaps trading lunar resources, or jointly developing fusion for the benefit of all). In the worst case, miscommunication and rivalry over lunar riches could create new friction in international relations. The coming decade – as pilot mining missions launch – will be pivotal in determining which path we tread.

Beyond Helium-3: Comparisons to Other Game-Changing Resources

Helium-3 is often discussed in the same breath as other futuristic or disruptive resources that could reshape economies. Drawing parallels helps put its significance in context and temper expectations with realism.

One comparison is to the fusion energy dream in general. While Helium-3 could make fusion cleaner, it’s worth noting that even “conventional” fusion (using D-T fuel) has been a long struggle. Projects like ITER have been under development for decades to harness D-T fusion, which is easier to ignite than Helium-3 but still hasn’t produced net positive energy. Some alternative fusion fuels include deuterium-deuterium (abundant fuel but even harder conditions needed) and p–B11 (hydrogen–boron) which, like Helium-3, produces no neutrons and only charged particles. Startups pursuing these advanced fuels face similar challenges: extremely high required temperatures and novel reactor designs. In essence, Helium-3 fusion might leapfrog D-T in desirability, but not in technical difficulty. If humanity gets fusion working at all, we might then transition to Helium-3 or other aneutronic fuels for their advantages – by then hopefully having the supply chain (possibly lunar) to support it. But until then, Helium-3’s value for energy remains mostly potential, whereas its value for quantum tech is immediate and tangible.

Another analogy is to the current scramble for critical materials in high-tech industries. We’ve already mentioned rare earth elements. Consider also elements like lithium (for batteries), cobalt (for EV batteries), or isotopes like copper-67 (used in cancer therapy) – each is experiencing spikes in demand. Helium-3 falls into a broader category of materials that are essential for cutting-edge technology but are supply-constrained. In some cases, alternatives or recycling can mitigate shortages (for example, quantum computers can in theory use alternative cooling methods like electronic coolers or different qubit designs that don’t require such low temperatures, though none are yet as effective as the Helium-3 route). Similarly, rare earths can sometimes be substituted or mined from new sources (efforts are underway in the U.S. and Australia to develop rare earth mines to offset Chinese dominance mining.com). For Helium-3, the “new source” is not on Earth at all – it’s the Moon. It’s a rather unique situation where the periodic table element we need exists here but in insufficient quantity, and we literally have to leave the planet to get more of it.

We can also compare Helium-3 to other isotopes for quantum and medical technology. An interesting example is Helium-4 itself – liquid helium (mostly helium-4) is widely used as a cryogenic coolant for MRI machines, superconductor magnets, etc. Earth has more helium-4 than helium-3, but helium-4 is also a non-renewable resource (generated by geological decay of uranium/thorium and collected from natural gas reserves). In recent years, helium (for party balloons and medical use) has seen supply crunches and price surges. This has driven initiatives to conserve and recycle helium. One could envision similar measures for Helium-3: improved recycling from quantum labs (capturing and re-purifying the gas rather than letting it escape) and perhaps synthesizing Helium-3 by intentionally breeding tritium in reactors. However, these steps may not meet future demand if quantum computing grows explosively. Other isotopes: for instance, ytterbium-171 and strontium-87 are used in cutting-edge atomic clocks and quantum simulators. Those can be produced in labs in small quantities via enrichment and don’t require space mining. Silicon-28 (an isotope of silicon) is used to make ultra-pure quantum processor chips with minimal nuclear spin noise; again, it can be enriched on Earth. In contrast, Helium-3’s production on Earth is tied to nuclear weapons and reactors – not exactly scalable or desirable sources for a booming civilian tech industry. This makes Helium-3 an outlier that may genuinely need extraterrestrial sourcing.

Consider also space-based solar power – another futuristic energy idea mentioned by analysts. Rather than mining a fuel like Helium-3, space solar involves building large solar arrays in orbit or on the Moon to beam energy down to Earth (via microwaves or lasers). Some argue this could be more near-term than mining the Moon, since it “only” requires advancing space infrastructure and wireless power transmission, without the tricky chemistry of mining. China, for one, is investing in space solar power research and aims to have a demonstration in orbit by 2030 asiatimes.com. If space solar can provide continuous clean energy, it might reduce the urgency for Helium-3 fusion fuel. On the other hand, nothing precludes doing both in parallel – one day we could see a diversified space economy where some satellites beam power, while elsewhere robotic miners shovel dust for rare isotopes.

From a market perspective, Helium-3 could become part of a suite of “space resources” that include things like lunar water ice (for making rocket fuel and life support), lunar metals (for 3D-printing structures), and asteroid minerals (platinum-group metals, etc.). Initially, Helium-3 is singled out because of its high value per unit mass – again, at current valuations, it’s far more precious than gold thequantuminsider.com. But if lunar mining infrastructure is built for Helium-3, it could incidentally be used to gather other materials. Interlune itself has mentioned plans to eventually harvest rare earth elements, industrial metals, and water from the Moon in addition to Helium-3 thequantuminsider.com interlune.space. This hints at a future where the Moon might supply a variety of critical materials, reducing Earth’s environmental burden (mining on Earth is messy) and sidestepping terrestrial scarcity by tapping extraterrestrial abundance.

In summary, Helium-3 sits at the nexus of multiple visionary endeavors – quantum computing, fusion energy, and space colonization. Each of those has parallels (quantum has other exotic materials, energy has other futuristic sources, space mining has other targets). Helium-3’s story shouldn’t be seen in isolation; it’s one thread in the tapestry of humanity’s push toward advanced tech and off-world resources. It just happens to be a particularly shiny thread right now, given its cross-sector importance.

Recent Developments and the Road Ahead

As of 2025, the pursuit of lunar Helium-3 has moved from theoretical musings to concrete milestones. Several recent developments stand out:

First Lunar Resource Contracts: In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Isotope Program made history by signing a contract to purchase 3 liters of Helium-3 from Interlune by 2029 interlune.space. This small volume is symbolically huge – it represents governmental validation of space mining. The DOE effectively said, “If you mine it, we’ll buy it,” providing a guaranteed market. Around the same time, Interlune also announced its first commercial customer, Maybell Quantum, which booked a multi-thousand-liter order (2029–2035) autoevolution.com to secure Helium-3 for its quantum computing facilities. These deals not only give Interlune a future revenue stream to entice investors, but also put other players on notice that the space resources economy has begun.
Bluefors–Interlune Partnership: In September 2025, Bluefors – a key supplier of quantum cooling systems – agreed to buy up to 10,000 liters of lunar Helium-3 per year for a decade, starting in 2028 thequantuminsider.com. This is by far the largest Helium-3 supply deal ever made. Bluefors, by virtue of serving dozens of quantum tech companies and research labs, essentially secured Helium-3 not just for itself but for the wider quantum industry’s needs. “Bluefors’s commitment is the strongest signal we have that says there is a demand for Helium-3,” Interlune’s CEO Rob Meyerson observed washingtonpost.com. In the announcement, Bluefors CEO Rob Blaauwgeers noted that this would “stabilize the quantum computing supply chain” and allow the industry to grow without helium shortages thequantuminsider.com thequantuminsider.com. It’s also telling that this deal involved international collaboration – Bluefors is based in Finland, Interlune in the U.S., highlighting that quantum tech and lunar mining are global enterprises.
Tech Demo Missions in the Pipeline: The end of 2025 is slated to see Interlune’s first hardware on the Moon. As mentioned, the Astrolab FLEX rover carrying Interlune’s Helium-3 camera is scheduled for launch (likely via a SpaceX rocket, under NASA’s commercial lander program) geekwire.com. If all goes well, that rover will land near the Moon’s south pole and operate for one lunar day (a couple of Earth weeks), scanning the soil. While it won’t dig or harvest, the data it collects will be crucial for planning where the later mining mission should target. This is an important proof-of-concept: it will test the hypothesis that Helium-3 can be remotely sensed in lunar regolith by its spectral signature geekwire.com. A successful detection would be a scientific breakthrough in lunar resource mapping.
Prototype Progress on Earth: Interlune and others have been testing pieces of the mining system here on Earth. In late 2024, Interlune reported it had built a sub-scale lunar excavator and run it through field tests (likely in a simulated regolith bed). They also used parabolic flights to test their regolith separator under moon-gravity conditions washingtonpost.com. Each subsystem proven now reduces risk for the eventual lunar mission. NASA’s awards (TechFlights, SBIR) provided funding for some of these tests interlune.space. Additionally, other companies have been advancing related tech – for instance, startups developing oxygen extractors from lunar regolith (since oxygen is another resource in the soil) or drilling systems for ice. These technologies are synergistic; a lot of the hardware to mine Helium-3 (excavators, heaters, power units) could be repurposed or shared with efforts to mine water or metals on the Moon.
Lunar Policy and Funding: Politically, 2024–2025 saw increased support for space resource utilization. NASA’s budget includes funding for ISRU demonstrations. The Artemis Accords gained new signatories, reinforcing an international consensus (at least among allies) on allowing private resource rights. Meanwhile, China announced plans for a International Lunar Research Station roadmap, and hinted at possible cooperation with other nations (post-Russia) to develop its lunar base by the 2030s. The United Nations created a working group to discuss space resource governance, which met in 2022–2023 without concrete outcome, but it shows the topic is heating up on the diplomatic stage. All these are laying the groundwork such that by the time Helium-3 is being produced, there (hopefully) will be agreed rules of the road.
Quantum Technology Strides: On the demand side, quantum computing continues to advance. In 2024, IBM unveiled a 1,121-qubit processor (codenamed Condor), the largest superconducting qubit chip to date. Other companies like Google and Rigetti made progress improving qubit coherence times and error rates. These improvements inch closer to practical, large-scale quantum computers – which in turn solidify the need for reliable Helium-3 refrigeration. The quantum technology industry collectively cheered the Bluefors–Interlune deal, because a secure helium supply de-risks one more aspect of scaling up quantum hardware thequantuminsider.com thequantuminsider.com. Beyond computing, quantum sensors and quantum communications that rely on low-temperature physics (e.g. single-photon detectors, certain quantum memory devices) will also benefit from more Helium-3 availability.

Looking ahead, the next big milestone to watch for is Interlune’s demonstration mining mission, which the company ambitiously targets by 2027 autoevolution.com. This would involve sending their full-scale Helium-3 harvester to the Moon, likely with a partner lander (perhaps Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander or another commercial lander that can handle a heavy payload). If that mission succeeds in even a small-scale extraction – say collecting a few milliliters of Helium-3 and returning it – it will be a game-changer. It would prove that lunar mining is feasible and open the door to scaling up operations. Interlune’s contracts have delivery start dates in 2027–2028, which is incredibly aggressive; we may see those timelines slip, as space projects often do. But even a demonstration by 2028 or 2029, aligning with when customers need the helium, could be acceptable.

Meanwhile, other nations might attempt their own demonstrations. For example, China could include a Helium-3 extraction experiment on Chang’e-8 (planned ~2028) or a subsequent mission. If international tensions rise, we might even see parallel efforts – a sort of “dual space race” where more than one entity mines Helium-3 around the same time. Cooperation is also possible: one can imagine a scenario where, say, NASA and ESA join forces with a company like Interlune, while China possibly partners with entities in Europe or the Middle East who are interested in fusion energy, to fund a mining outpost.

One thing is for sure: the coming years will test the bold predictions. Will lunar Helium-3 truly “drive the rise of quantum computing on Earth,” as the headline claim suggests? The pieces are falling into place: quantum computing is rising, and Helium-3 is a critical enabler; the Moon harbors the supply, and technology to retrieve it is under development right now. We are witnessing the early steps of a long journey. If successful, humanity could achieve something truly remarkable – a supply chain that extends beyond our planet, fueling breakthroughs back on Earth. And in doing so, we’ll have gone from simply walking on the Moon to working on the Moon, digging into its dust to deliver progress for all of us.

“The moon is so rich in Helium-3, it could solve humanity’s energy demand for around 10,000 years,” says Ouyang Ziyuan of China asiatimes.com. That remains to be proven, but in the next decade we will take decisive steps to find out. The pursuit of Helium-3 has moved from the realm of science fiction into laboratories, boardrooms, and launchpads – heralding an era when the Moon’s resources just might power the Earth’s next giant leaps.

Sources:

Patrascu, Daniel. Helium-3 Harvested on the Moon Will Drive the Rise of Quantum Computing on Earth. Autoevolution (17 Sep 2025) autoevolution.com autoevolution.com autoevolution.com autoevolution.com.
Swayne, Matt. Bluefors Enters Deal to Secure Lunar Helium-3 Supply From Interlune. The Quantum Insider (17 Sep 2025) thequantuminsider.com thequantuminsider.com thequantuminsider.com.
Boyle, Alan. Interlune will team up with Astrolab to send a camera to the moon for helium-3 survey. GeekWire (5 Aug 2025) geekwire.com geekwire.com.
Foust, Jeff. Why the future of supercomputing may require helium mining on the moon. The Washington Post (16 Sep 2025) washingtonpost.com washingtonpost.com washingtonpost.com washingtonpost.com.
Interlune Press Release. U.S. Department of Energy Buys Helium-3 from U.S. Space Resources Company Interlune in Historic Agreement. Interlune (7 May 2025) interlune.space interlune.space.
Interlune Press Release. Bluefors to source helium-3 from the Moon with Interlune to power next phase of quantum industry growth. Interlune (16 Sep 2025) interlune.space interlune.space interlune.space.
Makichuk, Dave. Helium-3: The secret ‘mining war’ in space. Asia Times (11 Nov 2021) asiatimes.com asiatimes.com.
Clark, Stuart. The 7 most expensive substances ever found on planet Earth – #7 Helium-3. BBC Science Focus (5 Apr 2025) sciencefocus.com.
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