Natural resources company Interlune and industrial equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corporation unveiled the full-scale prototype of the Interlune excavator, a machine designed to ingest 100 metric tons of Moon dirt, or regolith, per hour and return it to the surface in a continuous motion. Interlune’s immediate focus is harvesting helium-3 from the Moon.

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

The excavator is the first product resulting from this joint development agreement; the companies will continue to explore other novel equipment and technology for use in space and on Earth. Vermeer CEO Jason Andringa will join the Interlune advisory board.

“Vermeer innovation has always been about finding better ways to do important work and this project is no different. Combining my personal passion for aeronautics and astronautics with Vermeer equipment that bears my grandfather’s name to carefully and responsibly harvest resources to make our world a better place is something I’m incredibly proud of,” said Andringa.