Lancaster University owns some very expensive beer kegs. These metal containers do not hold beer; they hold a rare gas. The name of the gas is helium-3.
It is very expensive now. One liter costs $2,000. Helium-3 is important for quantum computers.
It can also help make clean energy for everyone. Today, we get this gas from old nuclear materials, but the world needs more of it. Where can we find more?
Scientists are looking at the moon. Moon dust is called regolith. There is a lot of helium-3 in this dust.
This is a new space race. A company called Interlune wants to go there. One of their workers is Harrison Schmitt.
He was an astronaut. He walked on the moon many years ago. Interlune wants to send machines to the moon.
These machines will go in the year 2027. They will dig up the moon dust. Then they will heat the dust.
This helps them get the gas. Finally, they will bring the gas to Earth. Some people think this is a bad idea.
They say it is too difficult. We do not know where the gas is on the moon. Also, machines must dig up a lot of dust.
They need tons of dust to get a small amount of gas. Other companies stay on Earth. They look for gas in the ground.
For example, one company is looking in Minnesota. They think it is better to stay here. But people still spend a lot of money.
One company in Finland bought moon gas for the future. They paid $300 million. This small gas is now a big business.