- Space startup Interlune, founded by former Blue Origin leaders, secures $15.5 million for moon resource harvesting.
- Interlune plans to develop technology to sort lunar regolith for extracting oxygen and using 3D printers.
- The company aims to secure an additional $2 million for its lunar resource extraction project.
Interlune, a startup founded by former leaders of Blue Origin, has secured a significant amount of new funding for its moon resource harvesting project. The company has raised $15.5 million and aims to secure an additional $2 million.
Interlune has been operating for three years but has kept its technology under wraps, making very few public announcements. This recent funding round is the first indication of financial support since a $1.85 million seed round in 2022.
Interlune's CTO, Gary Lai, previously mentioned their goal of extracting natural resources from the moon to create a sustainable in-space economy.
The startup is led by aerospace executive Rob Meyerson, who was the President of Blue Origin for 15 years. The team also includes attorney H. Indra Hornsby, who has experience in the space industry.
The company plans to develop a technology that can sort lunar regolith (moon dirt) by particle size. This will allow for the extraction of oxygen, the use of 3D printers, and other applications using the sorted regolith.
NASA's Artemis program has sparked interest in in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), which involves collecting and transforming space resources into valuable commodities.
Edited by Shruti Thapa
