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Space
Space
Science
Leonard David

Mining the moon: Can you make money harvesting helium-3?

Interlune Mining Earth Astrolab David Lawrence NASA United States
A large machine with tread wheels and a white body sits on a gravel path.

Several companies firmly believe that mining for helium-3 (He-3) on the moon is a real potential money-maker. But is there an economic return on investment in scouring Earth's moon for that natural resource? Do we need helium-3, and if so, for what?

Helium-3 has been pounding the surface of the moon for billions of years. Found in small quantities in the solar wind, He-3 is implanted in the lunar regolith, the layer of loose, fragmented material that carpets the terrain of the moon.

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