Seattle-based Interlune is raising additional investment to support its campaign to identify and extract resources on the moon that can be brought back to Earth, starting with helium-3.
The fundraising effort came to light in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. The $5 million offering takes the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity, or SAFE, a contractual arrangement in which investors have the right to receive equity in the company at a later time.
In Wednesday’s initial filing, Interlune reported that $500,000 of the offering had been sold to a set of six investors. The filing didn’t identify the investors.
In an emailed statement, Interlune CEO Rob Meyerson said the SAFE funding would help support the company’s preparations for the lunar missions ahead.
“Interlune has elected to raise $5 million on a Simple Agreement for Future Equity from existing and new investors to advance key technical milestones ahead of its next priced round,” Meyerson said. “We have several significant projects in the works, which we’re excited to announce shortly.”
The startup was founded in 2020 and reported raising $18 million in seed capital in 2024. Interlune’s founders include Meyerson, who previously served as president of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture; Gary Lai, who was previously Blue Origin’s chief architect for the company’s New Shepard suborbital rocket ship; and Apollo 17 moonwalker Harrison Schmitt, a geologist who has championed efforts to mine the moon for helium-3.
Helium-3, a rare isotope of one of the universe’s most common elements, is more abundant on the moon than on Earth. It can be used as a coolant for quantum computers, a material for neutron radiation detectors and a fuel for second-generation fusion reactors. Last October, Pulsar Helium reported the discovery of a significant reserve of helium-3 at its Topaz Project site in Minnesota.
The market rate for helium-3 has been estimated to run as high as $20 million per kilogram. Interlune has already struck deals with Bluefors, the Department of the Air Force, the Department of Energy and Maybell Quantum Industries to work on the technology for extracting lunar helium-3 — and eventually, to supply helium-3 for terrestrial applications.
For its first moon mission, Interlune has partnered with Astrolab to send a multispectral camera to the lunar surface to prospect for helium-3. That mission is currently slated for launch this summer.
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