Overview
- Interlune, which won the NASA SBIR Phase III award Monday, will receive $6.9 million from the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s Game Changing Development program to build the Prospect Moon payload.
- The system is designed to scoop lunar soil, heat samples to release gases such as helium-3 and hydrogen, and measure them with a mass spectrometer and a multispectral camera.
- Development spans about 18 months, positioning the hardware for lander integration in fall 2027 and a commercial lunar flight targeted for 2028 under CLPS options.
- The company reports nearly $500 million in binding helium-3 orders from the Department of Energy and quantum-computing firms, with early deliveries sourced on Earth before lunar production.
- Interlune has flown prototypes and plans a 2026 camera ride on Astrolab’s FLIP rover, laying groundwork that could guide future in-situ resource use aligned with NASA’s Artemis goals.