Category Archives: Interlune

Friday / 9 January 2026

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Artemis Human Landings Anticipated with Preparatory FLIP, then FLEX Rovers

Launching NET July 2026 via 63,800kg-capacity Falcon Heavy, under NASA-CLPS US$322M award, Astrobotic Griffin-1 lander with 625kg capacity targets Nobile Crater, ~85°S, 53°E; primary payload Venturi Astrolab 500kg FLIP rover testing hyper-deformable tires, telerobotic mobility, thermal resilience, dust mitigation for larger FLEX vehicle; ~1,000kg-capacity FLEX launches in HLS lander NET 2027 on 200,000kg-capacity Starship Super-Heavy; FLIP rover is critical pathfinder for sustainable lunar infrastructure, carrying Interlune instrument seeking H3 / water ice, as well as 40-micron-thin nickel disks with millions of images of human endeavors, and Space Age Publishing Company weekly Space Calendar and Moon Messages

Image Credits: Astrobotic, Astrolab, Arch Mission Foundation

Friday / 8 August 2025

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Agreement with Astrolab for Interlune Helium-3 Rover-Mounted Camera

Helium-3 lunar prospector Interlune will mount multispectral, multi-wavelength camera developed with NASA Ames on Astrolab FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform (FLIP) rover, headed to Nobile Crater ~85°S NET Q4 2025 on Astrobotic Griffin-1 lander, to seek titanium-rich ilmenite mineral correlated with helium-3; precursor for NET 2027 dedicated helium-3 mission, privately held Seattle-based Interlune has agreements for purchase by US Department of Energy and Maybell Quantum of Denver CO; estimated price for helium-3 is US$20 million per kg

Image Credits: Astrobotic, Astrolab, Interlune 

Tuesday / 13 May 2025

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Helium 3 Needed for New Uses: Quantum Computing, Medical Imaging, Fusion Research

Interlune presents prototype excavator produced with Vermeer Corp to extract Helium 3 (3He) from 100,000 kg regolith hourly; US Dept of Energy will buy 3He from ~2 hours of excavation, 3L; Maybell Quantum also signed on to purchase 3He; Apollo 17 Astronaut geologist Jack Schmitt co-founded Interlune to mine 3He; CTO Gary Lau states regolith 3He concentration is between 1:3,000 and 1:10,000 according to samples from Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17; Company received initial seed funding of $18M

Credits: Interlune, Vermeer; Pictured: Schmitt