Space mining is getting closer to reality with the latest agreement between Japanese lunar exploration company ispace and lunar exploration company Magna Petra.
In a memorandum of understanding, ispace and Magna Petra agreed to collaborate on leveraging resources of the moon For economic interests and life Earththe company announced on Tuesday, December 10.
According to the coalition, through “non-destructive, sustainable harvesting” statementMagna Petra plans to one day extract “commercial quantities” of the helium-3 isotope from the regolith on the moon’s surface and transport it back to Earth, where the resource is facing extreme supply shortages.
The agreement comes as ispace prepares to launch its second lunar lander missionhoping to succeed where its predecessor lander failed. That mission was ispace’s first attempt to land on the moon. end in crash due to malfunction of the lander’s altitude sensor. ispace said that on their second mission, it had made the necessary improvements to the lander’s software to prevent a similar accident this time.
If all goes according to plan, ispace’s upcoming Resilience lunar lander will carry the company’s Tenacious mini-lunar rover to the lunar surface to demonstrate its ability to traverse the lunar terrain and collect regolith samples. The launch is currently planned for no earlier than January 2025.
Meanwhile, Magna Petra said this technology demonstration would allow the company to “rapidly verify, capture and return” large quantities of helium-3 that it hopes to eventually return to Earth.
“These missions require a cis-lunar transportation and lunar infrastructure partner with mature capabilities, agility and strong leadership,” said Jeffrey Max, CEO of Magna Petra. He is confident in ispace’s achievements to date.
ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada also agrees with Max’s point of view. “We are excited to partner with Magna Petra to deliver their technology to the moon,” he added. “The Earth-lunar economy will rely on many important resources besides water, and it is important to work to harness these resources.”
In fact, the apparent abundance of water ice at the moon’s south pole has sparked a new era of space race, with NASA’s artemis project Let astronauts return to the lunar surface to compete Keep pace with China’s plans Defeat them. For astronauts, water ice is a versatile resource that can be used for a variety of purposes, from regular drinking water to manufacturing water. rocket fuel. But, as Hakamada points out, that’s not the only valuable resource moon Required.
“The Earth-lunar economy will rely on many important resources other than water, and it is important to strive to utilize these resources. ispace will continue to support companies and organizations in achieving the goals required for the development of the new economy,” Hakamada said.