Helium-3: Why the Moon is a harsh mistress
One of the topics emerging at the European Specialty Gas Summit 2025 was helium-3, and the prospect of mining this special material from beyond this planet.
Simply stated, helium-3 could help wean Earth off fossil fuels, framing lunar mining as an energy security and economic imperative. But how simple, viable and economic is this prospect really? And is this business case actually being used to prop up the wider business case for commercial space exploration?
Here in this exclusive column from Richard Brook, a specialist in helium supply and application and a speaker on that Summit stage in Utrecht, the Netherlands, we learn more about the fundamentals behind helium-3 mining, the business case, and an opinion on the viability of that endeavour at our outer limits.
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