Ispace and Magna Petra have signed a memorandum of cooperation on lunar exploration. Its ultimate goal should be to land a vehicle on the surface of our moon that will attempt to extract helium-3 from the regolith.
Agreement between the two space companies
Space mining is moving closer to reality thanks to a recent agreement between Japanese company Ispace and Magna Petra, a lunar exploration company.
Ispace and Magna Petra have agreed in a memorandum of understanding to collaborate to use the moon’s resources for the economic benefit of life on Earth, the companies announced Tuesday, December 10.
Using “non-destructive, sustainable mining,” according to the joint statement, Magna Petra plans to one day extract “commercial quantities” of helium-3 isotopes from regolith on the moon’s surface for delivery and distribution on Earth, where the resource is in severe supply shortages.
Ispace’s helium-3 landing mission
The agreement is being signed as Ispace prepares to launch its second lunar landing mission, hoping to succeed where the previous landing module failed. That mission, Ispace’s first attempt to land on the Moon, ended in an accident due to a malfunction in the landing module’s altitude sensor. For the second mission, Ispace says it has made the necessary improvements to the landing module software to prevent a similar failure this time.
If all goes according to plan, Ispace’s future Resilience lunar landing module will deliver the Tenacious micro-lunar lander to the lunar surface to demonstrate its ability to traverse lunar terrain and collect regolith samples. This launch is currently scheduled for January 2025 at the earliest.
Magna Petra claims that this technology demonstration will allow the company to “rapidly test, capture and return” the large volumes of helium-3 which it hopes to deliver to Earth, and ultimately do so in the shortest possible time.
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, has endorsed Magna Petra. “We are pleased to cooperate with Magna Petra to transport their technology to the moon,” he said, adding, “the cislunar economy will be dependent on many important resources other than water, and it is important to work to make use of these resources.”
Minerals on the Moon
Indeed, the apparent abundance of water ice at the Moon’s south pole triggered a new age space race: NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon is competing with China’s plans to get ahead of them in this endeavor. Water-ice is a remarkably multi-purpose resource for astronauts, which can be used for a variety of needs, from ordinary drinking water to creating rocket fuel. But, as Hakamada notes, that’s not the only valuable resource the moon has to offer.
“The cislunar economy will be dependent on many important resources other than water, and it is important to work to make use of these resources. ispace will continue to support the goals of various companies and organizations necessary for the development of the new economy,” Hakamada said.
Provided by www.space.com
