Startup quer minerar hélio-3 na Lua — cada quilo pode custar US$ 20 milhões
A Interlune planeja missão para 2027 com promessa de transformar o solo lunar em fonte de combustível
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Mulher segura Lua nas mãos: startup americana tem astronauta da missão Apollo 17 como fundador
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Repórter
Publicado em 22 de março de 2025 às 10h00.
Uma startup sediada em Seattle, nos Estados Unidos, quer ser a primeira a explorar comercialmente a Lua — não por curiosidade científica, mas por lucro.
A empresa, chamada Interlune, está desenvolvendo um projeto para extrair hélio-3, um isótopo raro que pode ser usado em reatores de fusão nuclear e em sistemas de computação quântica.
O valor estimado de apenas um quilo de hélio-3 gira em torno de US$ 20 milhões, e a promessa da empresa é que a superfície lunar esteja repleta desse recurso, preso em bolhas microscópicas nas rochas do solo lunar, o regolito.
A Interlune pretende iniciar sua primeira missão, batizada de "Prospect Moon", em 2027, usando uma sonda de pouso da Nasa. O objetivo é coletar amostras do solo, medir a concentração do gás e enviar os dados à Terra.
Ainda há dúvidas sobre a real abundância do isótopo na Lua. As amostras trazidas pelas missões Apollo mostraram níveis baixos, mas cientistas admitem que parte do gás pode ter escapado no retorno à Terra.
Como surgiu a Interlune?
Fundada em 2020, a Interlune é uma startup com sede em Seattle criada por veteranos do setor espacial, incluindo ex-executivos da Blue Origin e o astronauta da Apollo 17 Harrison Schmitt.
A empresa nasceu com a proposta ambiciosa de extrair recursos naturais da Lua para viabilizar uma economia espacial sustentável, e já levantou mais de US$ 18 milhões em rodadas de investimento e apoio do governo dos EUA, incluindo US$ 375 mil do Departamento de Energia americano.
Qual a importância do hélio-3?
O hélio-3 é um isótopo raro na Terra, mas potencialmente abundante na superfície lunar. Seu valor está na aplicação em áreas estratégicas como fusão nuclear, computação quântica e imagem médica.
Cada quilo pode valer até US$ 20 milhões, e países como China e EUA veem o elemento como recurso crítico para segurança nacional e avanço tecnológico.
Aposta de longo prazo
A Interlune não está sozinha nessa corrida. Com o avanço das missões lunares privadas — como a recente Blue Ghost, da Firefly Aerospace —, a Lua voltou ao centro da disputa tecnológica.
Mas, mesmo que o plano da Interlune avance, a extração de hélio-3 em larga escala continua distante. A missão de 2027 será um teste inicial e, se bem-sucedida, servirá de base para futuras operações.
O maior desafio, além das questões técnicas, será político e regulatório: como será gerido um recurso valioso em território sem dono?
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![This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost captures Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost captures Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
1/5 This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost captures Earth reflecting off the solar panel with the Moon on the horizon. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Firefly Blue Ghost deverá registrar imagens em alta definição de um eclipse total em 14 de março)
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![This still image taken from a February 24, 2025 video released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander on its third lunar orbit, showing the far side of the Moon and a top-down view of Blue Ghost. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This still image taken from a February 24, 2025 video released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander on its third lunar orbit, showing the far side of the Moon and a top-down view of Blue Ghost. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
2/5 This still image taken from a February 24, 2025 video released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander on its third lunar orbit, showing the far side of the Moon and a top-down view of Blue Ghost. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Firefly Blue Ghost pousa na Lua)
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![This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander taking an Earth selfie. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander taking an Earth selfie. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
3/5 This undated image released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander taking an Earth selfie. More than fifty years passed between the last Apollo mission and America's return to the lunar surface, when the first ever private lander touched down last February. Now, starting March 2, two more missions are set to follow within a single week -- marking a bold push by NASA and its industry partners to make Moon landings a routine part of space exploration. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Imagens da Terra feitas pela Blue Ghost)
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![This handout photograph taken and released by Firefly Aerospace on March 2, 2025, shows the Moon's surface, Earth on the horizon, and Blue Ghost's top deck with its solar panel, X-band antenna (L), and LEXI payload (R) in the view. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This handout photograph taken and released by Firefly Aerospace on March 2, 2025, shows the Moon's surface, Earth on the horizon, and Blue Ghost's top deck with its solar panel, X-band antenna (L), and LEXI payload (R) in the view. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
4/5 This handout photograph taken and released by Firefly Aerospace on March 2, 2025, shows the Moon's surface, Earth on the horizon, and Blue Ghost's top deck with its solar panel, X-band antenna (L), and LEXI payload (R) in the view. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Blue Ghost transporta 10 instrumentos científicos)
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![This image grab from a March 2, 2025 video and released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander during its lunar landing as part of the Ghost Mission 1. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT]( "This image grab from a March 2, 2025 video and released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander during its lunar landing as part of the Ghost Mission 1. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT")
5/5 This image grab from a March 2, 2025 video and released by Firefly Aerospace shows Firefly's Blue Ghost lander during its lunar landing as part of the Ghost Mission 1. A US company successfully landed its spacecraft on the Moon on March 2, 2025, making it only the second private lander to achieve this milestone, a live webcast from mission control showed. Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1 touched down at 3:34 am US Eastern Time (0834 GMT) near Mons Latreille, a volcanic formation in Mare Crisium on the Moon's northeastern near side. (Photo by Handout / Firefly Aerospace / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / Firefly Aerospace" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS (Primeiras imagens do pouso vertical na Lua)
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