Heavy equipment space race heats up with new Vermeer lunar excavator [update]

This news is about lunar mining equipment, not home energy upgrades, but here's what happened. Equipment maker Vermeer and startup Interlune have expanded their partnership to build machinery for mining helium on the Moon. The two companies unveiled a full-scale prototype of an all-electric excavator designed to dig up 100 metric tons of lunar rock and dirt per hour, extracting helium-3, a rare isotope believed to exist in quantity on the Moon. They say a mission-ready version could be ready by 2028, timed to NASA's Moon Base program.

The interest in lunar helium comes because helium is scarce and running low on Earth, even though it's used to make semiconductors, chips, and other components common in modern electronics and vehicles. Japan is pursuing similar plans, with equipment maker Komatsu developing its own electric lunar excavator, though Vermeer and Interlune appear to be further along. Interlune has been funded by grants from the Department of Energy, NASA, and the National Science Foundation, has raised $18 million so far, and is targeting its first mission to the Moon before 2030.

None of this affects home energy upgrades or rebates directly. It's a look at how companies are trying to solve helium scarcity using space mining rather than anything that changes what's available for insulation, heat pumps, or weatherization programs at home.