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Blue Origin has announced Project Oasis, a new program that will search for and eventually use resources on the Moon. The first mission, Oasis-1, will fly in a close orbit around the lunar poles with help from Luxembourg, beginning the process of identifying materials such as water ice, Helium-3, and rare metals.
The company says the project could transform the Moon into a supply stop for space travel, cutting the cost of missions beyond Earth.
Project Oasis starts with detailed surveys from orbit. Oasis-1 will carry instruments that can look beneath the Moon’s surface to locate and measure resources. Future missions would send landers to confirm findings on the ground and attempt extraction. The long-term goal is to reduce the need to bring fuel and raw materials from Earth, making space travel more practical and affordable.
A major focus is water ice, which is trapped in permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles. India’s Chandrayaan-1 mission first detected signs of it in 2009.
Oasis-1 aims to produce sharper maps of ice deposits, capable of detecting layers up to one meter deep. The water can be split into hydrogen and oxygen, creating rocket fuel and breathable air, making it one of the most valuable resources for future crews.
Another target is Helium-3, an isotope deposited on the Moon’s surface by the solar wind. Although rare on Earth, it is found in higher amounts on the Moon and is being studied as a fuel for nuclear fusion reactors. If fusion technology advances, Helium-3 could provide clean energy without radioactive waste. Oasis-1’s sensors will track its distribution, giving scientists a clearer picture of where it could be mined.
The mission will also search for rare earth elements and precious metals within lunar soil, known as regolith. These are critical for electronics and could also be used to build infrastructure on the Moon. Radioactive elements in the soil could support on-site power generation. Mapping these materials could help reduce mining pressure on Earth while supporting off-world manufacturing.
To achieve this, Oasis-1 will use neutron spectroscopy to detect hydrogen, magnetometers to identify metals, and cameras to collect multispectral geological data. The satellite will fly in an unusually low orbit to improve resolution, and at the end of its mission, it will be guided into the surface to expose deeper layers for final analysis.
Luxembourg is contributing through its national space agency, its Space Resources Innovation Centre, and companies like GOMSpace. The country has been promoting space mining laws since 2017 and has invested in developing technology for resource use in space. Much of Oasis-1’s design and coordination is being managed from Luxembourg.
Project Oasis links directly to Blue Origin’s other programs, including Blue Alchemist, which can turn lunar soil into solar panels and wires. Together, the projects aim to reduce the cost of future missions by enabling fuel production and construction on the Moon itself. Blue Origin says this could cut expenses by up to 90 percent and help turn deep space travel into routine missions.
If the project works as planned, the Moon may no longer be seen only as a scientific target but as a supply hub for humanity’s expansion into space.
