Interlune Awarded $6.9 Million Contract from NASA for Lunar Resource Development

Interlune wins $6.9M NASA contract to create system to extract helium-3 and hydrogen from moon dirt

Interlune test engineer Alex Lewandowski and mechanical engineer Jessica Wu check test equipment for the mass spectrometer system in the Regolith Lab at the company’s Seattle headquarters. (Interlune Photo) NASA has awarded a $6.9 million contract to Seattle-based Interlune for the development of a system that can extract gases such as helium-3 and hydrogen from lunar soil and rocks. The system will be developed and tested on Earth under the ter…

Interlune Awarded $6.9 Million Contract from NASA for Lunar Resource Development

Project Aims to Be the First to Measure Volatile Gases by Heating Lunar Soil While on the Moon SEATTLE, May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Interlune, a natural resources company, today announced a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III project with NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) program for a lunar resource development effort. The sole-source contract is for a firm-fixed-price of $6.9 mil…

Interlune wins NASA contract for helium-3 extraction payload

Interlune, a startup with plans to harvest helium-3 from the moon, has won a NASA contract to develop a payload to test ways to extract the isotope from lunar regolith.

NASA Pays Moon Mining Company $6.9 Million to Sniff the Moon

Ever since American space agency NASA announced plans to build a permanent base on the Moon, things have started to move fast, with many players jumping on board the space train. Everybody is scrambling to lay the groundwork that would make such a base possible – including a crew that intends to mine the resources of the place, but not before giving it a good old sniff. The company in question is called (continue reading...)

NASA Awards $6.9 Million Contract for First-Ever In-Situ Lunar Volatile Gas Measurements

A $6.9 million NASA contract will fund the first attempt to measure volatile gases by heating lunar soil directly on the Moon’s surface — a milestone that could unlock the commercial potential of helium-3 and other lunar resources. “For the first time ever, we will measure volatile gases by heating lunar regolith while on the Moon, dramatically advancing the scientific community’s understanding of its properties.” Dr. Elizabeth Frank, InterluneN…

Interlune To First Measure Lunar Gases On-Site With New Payload

Interlune secured a $6.9 million NASA contract to develop a payload for measuring gases in lunar regolith, directly on the Moon.