Pella, IA & Seattle, WA — An Iowa industrial equipment manufacturer took a giant leap in the effort to harvest natural resources from space. Pella-based Vermeer Corp. and Interlune, a Seattle, Washington-based natural resources company, unveiled a full-scale prototype of a lunar excavator earlier this month. According to a news release, Vermeer built the excavator, which is “designed to ingest 100 metric tons of Moon dirt, or regolith, per hour and return it to the surface in a continuous motion.”

A rendering of the Interlune Harvester, which will incorporate excavation hardware developed in partnership with Vermeer.

Interlune co-founder and CEO Rob Meyerson said iN a press release, “When you’re operating equipment on the moon, reliability and performance standards are at a new level. Vermeer has a legacy of innovation and excellence that started more than 75 years ago, which makes them the ideal partner for Interlune.”

A full-scale prototype of the Interlune excavator, which was developed in partnership with Vermeer.Testing as shown was done with auxiliary components. Final Interlune excavator hardware will be integrated with the Interlune Harvester.

Interlune officials said their immediate focus is harvesting helium-3, which they say is scarce on Earth but abundant on the moon. Space.com calls helium-3 a “lightweight, elusive isotope” that is “highly prized for its potential uses in nuclear fusion, clean energy research, cryogenics, quantum computing and even medical imaging and neutron detection.”

Interlune and Vermeer built the full-size prototype after successfully developing and testing a subscale version in the summer of 2024.  Company officials say the lunar excavator is capable of ingesting 100 metric tons of moon dirt per hour, and its design reduces tractive force, power consumption and dust compared to traditional trench-digging techniques.