Sustainable lunar mining: ispace partners with Magna Petra for helium-3

Efforts to use lunar resources to benefit Earth have made progress with a new partnership between ispace, a Japanese lunar research company, and Magna Petra, a company specializing in lunar research. The partnership, announced on December 10, outlines a common goal to utilize helium-3 from the moon’s regolith sustainably and without causing destruction, reports show.

Helium-3, a rare isotope facing critical shortages on Earth, has been identified as a potential resource for commercial extraction. Magna Petra has indicated plans to extract significant amounts of the isotope and transport it back to Earth. The company’s approach will be based on technologies designed to minimize environmental impact on the lunar surface. This development aligns with ispace’s broader vision of the cislunar economy, which seeks to harness a range of lunar resources beyond water.

ispace’s upcoming moon mission

iSpace’s second lunar lander mission, called Resilience, will launch no earlier than January 2025. According to According to reports, this mission follows the company’s first attempt, which ended in failure due to a glitch in the altitude sensor. Updated software and system improvements have been implemented to prevent similar issues. The Resilience lander is expected to deliver the Tenacious microrover to the lunar surface. Once deployed, the rover aims to demonstrate its ability to traverse lunar terrain and collect samples of regolith.

Magna Petra’s view on lunar research

Jeffrey Max, CEO of Magna Petra, expressed confidence in ispace’s capabilities, stating in reports that their expertise and global presence fit the mission’s requirements. He emphasized the importance of partnerships in advancing the timeline for validating and retrieving helium-3 for applications on Earth.

Expanding the lunar economy

Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of ispace, emphasized the need to focus on various lunar resources that are essential for the development of the cislunar economy. He noted, according to sources, that water ice is not the only resource worth exploring, and that such collaborations pave the way for broader use of lunar materials.